


Go And Come Back Again

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Mentioned/Background Relationships, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Pidge is of age, Political Intrigue, Slow Burn, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:49:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 79,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected event changes the course of all their lives, and the results are not what anyone would have dreamed of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unsaid

Early morning had always been his favorite time of day, even on strange planets where the sun rose in the north or, on one memorable occasion, more than once. There was something about the pearly grey light that granted him a sense of calm, a feeling that anything was possible. As the sun shaded from red into orange and the sky from deep violet into blue he almost felt optimistic in a way that just wasn't possible in the full light of day.

And for Takashi Shirogane that was about as good as it got, anymore.

Being awake at this early hour usually led him on a round of the castle, conducting security checks and running diagnostics. It was also during these times that he did most of his bonding with the Black Lion, doing what could be done to make up for some of the gaps in their relationship. He knew that neither could do anything about not possessing the Black Bayard, but they could focus on what was within their control, and that was proving to be enough.

He was just passing down a dark corridor, on his way to the hanger, when a glimmer of light caught his eye. He froze for an instant, heart leaping in his chest, before his brain caught up with his survival instincts. There was no chance it was an enemy, so with a deep breath he started to move toward the light, noticing it had a greenish tinge the closer he got. That told him everything he needed to know.

“Katie?”

The small figure outlined against the green light started and spun, almost dropping the device in her hand. “Shiro? What are you doing here?”

He stepped out of the darkness until he could clearly see the youngest member of the team. “I was about to ask you the same question. And how did you know it was me?”

“Please.” He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. “You're the only one who ever calls me by my name. And I'm working, like I always am.”

“This early in the morning? And with the roof of your hanger open?”

“Early? It's not -” Pidge glanced up and saw the pink-tinged sky above the castle. “Oh, it is early.” She rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face. “Guess I pulled another all-nighter.”

“Katie -”

“I know, I know! I don't need the lecture again. But this was really important!”

“That's what you said the last time. And the time before that, and the one before that.” Shiro fought against the urge to grin and stepped up behind her. “Don't bother with excuses; just tell me what you're working on. And why the hanger is open.”

Pidge moved to where she had the radio antenna set up. “I was working on calibrating the dish to pick up lower frequency transmissions when the airwaves blew up with chatter, and I -”

“What kind of chatter?”

She grinned. “You aren't going to believe it, but apparently rumor is rampant that Zarkon is dead. Assassinated by one of those Druids he always kept close to him.”

“WHAT?!”

She nodded. “Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction at first as well, so I started to listen in with a bit more attention. I opened the hanger in the hopes of catching clearer signals.” She waved to the Green Lion, standing directly beneath that open space, head up to the sky. “And I'm using Ivy as a sort of amplifier.”

Shiro shook his head. “Ivy?”

“Well, she's green, and the spirit of the forest, so I figured it fit. But back to the subject at hand. . .” Her voice trailed off as she shot her commander a look. “Like I said the airwaves are full of rumors. I've been hoping that I could pick up something a little more definitive, maybe even intercept an official Galra transmission, anything that could help us figure out what's going on.”

“We need to wake Allura now. Even if it's just a rumor she needs to know. Come on.” He grabbed Pidge by the hand and started toward the door, only to be stopped by the sight of the princess, her adviser Coran, and three sleepy paladins.

“It's true,” Allura said with just a hint of triumph in her voice. “We just received an official message from the Imperial Council. They want to open negotiations for a truce.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“We can't agree to anything that doesn't include a release of prisoners,” Shiro said. “That is absolutely not open to negotiation.”

“We may have to modify that demand,” Coran spoke up. “This is not a time for absolutes.”

They were all gathered in the castle's high-ceilinged foyer, awaiting the arrival of a delegation from the Galra Imperial Council. Allura was clad in full regalia as the ruler of Altea, including the crown that had been her father's. Each paladin wore a newly made dress uniform in white and silver, with epaulets that corresponded to the color of their Lion. Lance kept tugging at the uniform's stiff collar, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from Keith. The only one who seemed sufficiently composed was Pidge, but at Coran's words she shook her head.

“No. I agree with Shiro; release of prisoners is non-negotiable.”

“Pidge -”

“It's not just about my father and brother, okay?” she said, glaring at Lance. “Everyone single one of them deserves their freedom.”

“Some of them may not want it, though.” Everyone turned to Hunk, who flushed a bright red. “I'm just saying, there may be people who have been prisoners since they were children and don't know anything else! To expect them to leave the only thing they've ever known and venture out into what we know can be a pretty cold universe would be cruel.”

Pidge look uncomfortable for a long moment before she nodded. “Point taken,” she mumbled.

Shiro didn't look very happy, either, but he also nodded. “Agreed. Anyone who wants to continue living under the domain of the Galra Empire will be allowed to do so.” He glanced at Pidge. “But all human prisoners – denizens of Earth – are to be released. Period. End of sentence.” He felt absurdly pleased at the smile that graced the young woman's face.

Allura and Coran exchanged a look. “I believe that would be acceptable,” the princess said. The words were barely out of her mouth when the blast of a ship's reverse thrusters was heard overhead. Allura gave her crew one last inspecting look before nodding. “Let's go,” she said before sweeping out the door with her long skirts trailing behind her.

The paladins followed in what they called The Voltron Formation: Lance and Hunk (the two legs) together, followed by Pidge and Keith (the two arms). Shiro (the head) brought up the rear, swallowing hard against the apprehension that made his stomach twist. The idea of sitting down with representatives of the Galra Empire made him quake internally, although he maintained a calm facade for the sake of appearances. The only one who seemed aware of his discomfort was Pidge, who glanced back at him just before they all went through the massive front door. He gave her a small smile of reassurance.

The small shuttle landed on the grassy verge in front of the castle with a muted thud, the engines immediately powering down. A group of four robot sentries descended the ramp as soon as it lowered, flanking its sides as the delegation exited in solemn silence. There wasn't a single Druid in the group, a fact that did not escape any of the Voltron crew.

None of the paladins paid that much attention as the Galran representatives were introduced, although Shiro made a mental note of the fact that one of them was a legal specialist. He exchanged a look with Allura at that and she gave the tiniest nod; they'd need to be careful in how they phrased their demands to not get caught in some sort of legal loophole.

The only other member of the delegation of any interest was a man named Skolark. He was the president of the Imperial Council, and no one had expected him to attend the negotiations himself. He apparently realized this because he smiled slightly at the expressions of surprise on everyone's faces. “I wanted to show you that we are serious about this truce, and what better way to do that than by taking part myself? It is my sincere hope that this will be the first step toward a lasting peace, and in earnest of that we have brought you a gift.”

Allura's eyebrows climbed towards her hairline. “A gift is not necessary, Councilor Skolark. We -” She stopped speaking when the Galran held up a hand.

“I believe this gift is more than necessary, princess. And long overdue.” He waved to someone waiting in the shadows of the shuttle, and then two figures came forth.

Pidge's intake of breath was so loud it caught everyone's attention, and then she was running across the grass, half sobbing and half shouting. She threw herself at the two men who had just descended the ramp with a cry. Four thin, almost emaciated, arms wrapped around her and squeezed with surprising strength.

“What -?” Hunk managed to gasp out.

“Who are they?” Keith asked, face set in a worried frown.

Shiro smiled and blinked back tears before starting forward himself to greet his former crewmates. “It's her father and brother. At last.”

Matt Holt broke from his sister's embrace as soon as he caught sight of Shiro and nudged his father. They both watched the Kerberos mission pilot in silence as he approached. He was only a few steps away when Commander Holt's composure broke and he stepped forward to embrace the other man. Shiro swallowed against his tears. “I'm so glad you're okay, Shiro,” the commander breathed.

“Sam -”

“No, none of that. No apologies are needed.” he pulled back and eyed his friend. “Matt told me what you did to protect him, and now I see you here with my beautiful Katie, protecting her as well.” He cupped Shiro's face with both hands, not letting the younger man look away. “There are no words to thank you for everything you've done for my family, Takashi.”

There was a cough behind them and they looked up to see Pidge grinning. “You need to meet the rest of the crew, Dad.” She grabbed her father's hand and all but pulled him across the grass, Matt following with a laugh. They stopped in front of everyone else. “The big guy is Hunk, the one with the scowl is Keith, and the idiot is Lance.”

“Hey!”

Pidge's grin grew even wider. “And this is Princess Allura of Altea, and her adviser Coran.”

Sam and Matt both bowed to the princess, who smiled warmly at them. “A pleasure, gentleman.” She turned to Skolark. “May we delay the negotiations for a time, Councilor? I would like to have Commander Holt and his son medically evaluated first.” When Skolark nodded his agreement she turned to her paladins. “You four escort the pair of them to the medical bay. Keith, you know how to get the pods running so I'm trusting you with that task.” Once they were on their way, Pidge chattering a mile a minute, Allura turned to Shiro. “Stay with me, please, Shiro.”

Two hours later they were gathered at a round conference table in the castle's main gallery. Sam and Matt had both been surprisingly healthy after almost two years of captivity, but they were exhausted from the journey and needed sleep. Pidge had chosen to stay with them, although they all knew that she'd have the room they were in wired for sight and sound so she could watch and hear everything.

Skolark opened the meeting by giving them a more complete account of the events surrounding Zarkon's murder and the decision to pursue a truce. The Imperial Center was still in an uproar, he explained, and all resources were needed to maintain some sort of order. It was also felt to be long passed time to end the hostilities, which had been a drain on money, people, and will for over ten thousand years. Many people in positions of influence were advocating that the so-called empire be dismantled and something new, better, and less subject to the whims of a dictator be put in its place.

“There is a delicate balance between expanding influence and maintaining stability, and we crossed that line a very, very long time ago,” Skolark stated. “For decades the only thing holding it all together was Zarkon's implacable will. Most of the people who believed as he did died out centuries ago, and those of us that are left believe the time is right for a new Galra to rise. But we can not do that without peace, even if only on a temporary basis.”

Allura exchanged a look with Coran and Shiro. “We too are interested in peace, Skolark, but it can not be bought for nothing.”

Skolark glanced at his legal adviser, who nodded. “We understand, princess. Perhaps you would present your conditions before we reveal ours. We have only one.”

She concealed her surprise well and proceeded to lay out what was being asked on their side. Most of it was standard; the surrendering of, and reduction in numbers, of certain weapons, an exchange of hostages, establishing a demilitarized buffer zone with each side responsible for patrolling a specific zone. The Imperial councilors seemed accepting of everything, but when Allura mentioned the release of prisoners they all balked, but Allura held up a hand.

“We understand that a general prisoner release will not be possible, we ask only that those who wish to return to their home planets be allowed to do so. Any who desire to continue their lives under Galran dominion are welcome to do so.” A tiny smile played across her lips. “We have no desire to see anyone forced into anything.”

Shiro bit back the urge to laugh at the barb, exchanging a look with Coran. Keith, Lance, and Hunk all looked confused for a moment, but then Keith spoke up. “I would like to add one thing, if I may, princess. We should be granted access to any records with regard to prisoners who died in captivity to give their families closure.”

Allura nodded. “I believe that is a reasonable request. Thank you for thinking of it, Keith,” she replied with a smile that made the young man blush slightly. “Councilor Skolark?”

The Galran representatives held a hurried, whispered conversation in their own language. Shiro regretted Pidge's absence at that moment; she would have been able to provide them a real time translation. But the consultation didn't take long, and soon enough Skolark was turning back to Allura with a smile and a nod. “We agree to all of your demands, princess, but we ask that the number of hostages be limited to twenty-five.”

She pretended to think for a long moment, but Shiro already knew she would agree; they had discussed that very possibility two days prior. So when the princess nodded there were smiles all around. “Now, Skolark, we would hear your single demand of us.”

“Very well. We ask only for the disbanding of the Voltron force.”

A cacophony of voices were raised in anger, surprise, and protest at that. Lance's was, predictably, the loudest. Shiro held up a hand to quiet the three younger, more volatile members of the team and turned to Skolark. “Perhaps you would explain what, exactly, you mean, Councilor. It may assuage some anger if you do.”

The Council's president had seemed surprised by the reaction, so he hastened to comply. “We do not expect for there to be no activity on the force. That would be impossible given the need to patrol sectors of the demilitarized zone. What we asking for is that the five Lions remain separate, and never formed into Voltron for as long as the truce is in force.”

Allura, although she seemed inclined to agree, was clearly uncomfortable with the request. “It is not an unreasonable request, Skolark, but I am not sure how we could guarantee the condition. As long as all five Lions are flying the possibility of forming Voltron exists. We would have to ground one of the Lions, or at least its bonded paladin.”

“Princess -”

She shook her head at Coran. “If someone who is not adequately bonded with a Lion pilots it then Voltron can not be formed. Will that be sufficient, Councilor?”

The legal negotiator looked disturbed and spoke quickly in the president's ear. Skolark nodded once and turned back to Allura. “Choose the paladin and include him in the hostages,” he firmly stated. “That would be best for all parties, I believe.”

“Fuck!” Lance breathed out, and it was a measure of their shock that no one reprimanded him for his language.

“I'll do it.”

The silence that greeted that statement was absolutely deafening. “Shiro -” Keith began, face pale and stricken.

“You are the commander and the pilot of the Black Lion, correct?” Skolark asked. When Shiro nodded the councilor studied him for a long moment. “We accept,” he said before standing. “Once all of the details are down in writing we will sign the truce agreement and be on our way.” He bowed to Allura and left the hall, leaving an uncomfortable silence in his wake.

Shiro walked out before any questions could be asked.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Five days later they were all again gathered in the foyer, Shiro with a knapsack of his few belongings on his back. Everyone was agitated, but it was Keith who finally put what they were all thinking into words. “You can't do this, Shiro. You've been their prisoner already. Let one of us -”

“No. Protecting the four of you is my responsibility, and I won't shirk it.” He smiled slightly. “And the other hostages will need someone to look to as well.” He looked around the group, meeting everyone's eyes in turn. “It's not forever, you know. Hold to this truce, all of you, and maybe work on a permanent peace while I'm gone. That would make one hell of a coming home present.” The he adjusted the knapsack, turned and exited the castle, joining the rest of the chosen hostages in making their way to the four Galran shuttles waiting for them.

They were more than halfway there when a voice called out his name behind him, and Shiro turned around in time to catch Pidge as she threw herself into his arms. “You have to come back, Shiro,” she fervently whispered against his neck as her grip on him tightened. “I won't ask you to promise me because that would be ridiculous, but you have to. I lo-” She swallowed hard and clamped her eyes shut. “Please,” was her final word before she pressed a swift kiss to his cheek and was gone.


	2. Reunion

“ _Cryo-freeze status at eighty-four per cent and holding. Vital signs steady.”_

“Set cryo-freeze to lower in increments to seventy per cent.”

A computerized voice counted down steadily, echoing in the stark white room. _“Cryo-freeze status at seventy per cent and holding. Vital signs rising.”_

Proceed with full shut down of cryo chamber,” the chief medic on duty ordered. “And prepare for muscle stimulation.”

The computer continued to countdown on the chamber's status while the medical staff looked anxiously on. There was a brief pause when it reached _Clear_ before a gust of cold air blew through the room when the door of the chamber hissed open a crack. _“Heart rate 74 beats per minute. Temperature 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Blood pressure 126 over 77.”_

“All within normal parameters based on pre-freeze data,” the chief medic commented as he studied the read-outs on the cryo chamber. He waved to some members of his staff and they rolled a gurney closer, one of them waiting immediately beside the chamber. Then the medic gave a nod to have the door opened the rest of the way.

With a gasp Shiro's eyes snapped open and he tried to take a step forward, only to collapse into the arms of the medical aide standing beside him. “Take it easy, Commander,” he said as he lowered the other man to the gurney. “You've been in freeze for five years; it's going to take some time to recover.”

“Get those electrodes attached,” a voice barked out, and Shiro relaxed at the sound. That voice, at least, was familiar.

“Borkas,” he managed to croak out past his uncooperative vocal chords.

The chief medic came into view and smiled. “None other,” he said. “Now I need you to relax as best as you can, otherwise the muscle stimulation will hurt like hell.”

Shiro did as he was told. It was difficult not to, given that his memory was full of holes and he had no knowledge on which to act. But he could remember Borkas, and as he relaxed other memories came back. The decision by the Imperial Council to place all of the hostages in cryo-freeze for safety when a rebellion stirred amongst Zarkon's former commanders. Discussions of what the process entailed and what the side effects would be. Meeting with all of the hostages to decide if they would accept, and then the strange buzzing sound as the chamber was activated.

That was the last thing he remembered before right now.

“How -” He nearly cried out as an electrical pulse passed through the muscles of his leg. “How long have I been under?” he finally managed to ask.

“Just over five years,” Borkas replied. “Things are still a little unsettled, politically, but the truce is about to expire so you and the other hostages are to be released.”

Shiro felt a jolt of disappointment. “No peace,” he whispered.

“Not yet, but neither side is giving up,” Borkas responded. “More negotiations are going on right now, and even if all we get is another temporary truce we'll keep trying.” The medic smiled. “You'll understand how well things are going when I tell you that a member of your old team is here to escort you and the others home. Our people are flocking to get a close-up look at one of the Voltron Lions.”

Those words galvanized Shiro into action. Or he tried, at least, He managed to prop himself up on his elbows for a few, brief seconds before collapsing back on to the gurney. “Not so fast,” Borkas said with a laugh. “It'll take a couple of days to get you back in shape enough to move, let alone anything else. Be patient.” He laid a hand on Shiro's shoulder. “Your teammate will still be here when you're ready to leave.

****~**~**~**~**~****

It was three days later before all of the hostages were able to leave the medical center, and another four after that before everyone felt well enough to make the trip back to the Castle of Lions and from there on to their homes. Shiro had been in communication with Allura while he waited, keeping her apprised of everything as it progressed.

On the final morning he packed his belongings and bid farewell to the people he had come to regard as friends, especially the medical staff and a few members of the council. All the other hostages were waiting in the departure hanger before he got there, surrounded by large numbers of the native population. Apparently the appeal of the Lion in their midst had yet to abate, and people were hoping to get one last glimpse of it before they left. Shiro wished he could get a glimpse himself, but it was too far away and too many people stood between him and the ship. It would have been nice to know which of his teammates was there.

But then a familiar voice spoke behind him. “It's about time you joined us, sir. We've been waiting on you.”

He turned around to be confronted by a tall, willowy young woman with short, honey-brown hair. She wore the standard suit of armor common to all of the paladins, and the green plates on it provided more than enough clues as to her identity.

“Ka. . . Katie?”

“Do you know anyone else that flies around the known universe in a mechanical green Lion?” she asked with a laugh as she moved closer. Her eyes traced the contours of his face before she let out a low whistle. “They weren't kidding,” she said.

“Who?”

“The Galra medical techs. They said you hadn't aged at all while in cryo-freeze, and you look exactly the same as when you left the castle.”

Shiro laughed. “You don't,” he commented, reaching out with one hand and placing it on top of her head. He was surprised that he had to raise his hand quite a bit more than before. “You're taller.”

“Well, it's been more than five years,” Pidge replied with a chuckle. “I've grown up.”

He avoided glancing away from her face at the way her figure filled out the contours of her uniform. “I can see that,” he said, nodding in approval. “Your hair is shorter, though.”

She ran a hand through the wavy locks on the top of her head, ruffling it into disarray. “I grew it out about two years ago, but it was such a pain to take care of, not to mention keeping it controlled and confined within my helmet, so I just decided to ditch it. So much easier this way.” She looked away, suddenly self-conscious. “Do you like it?”

Shiro was about to reply that he really didn't have an opinion, not being an expert in women's hair, when he stopped and looked closer. Pidge's hair was a bit longer and shaggier on the top and halfway down the sides and back of her head. But below that it was cropped tight and close to her skull, and he realized that she wore her hair in a feminine version of his own, preferred, style. He grinned. “Yeah, I do. It looks good.”

Pidge flushed and rubbed the back of her head, composing herself. “We really should get going,” she said, looking back and meeting Shiro's eyes. “The others are already embarked on the transport ship and are ready for departure.”

“Oh, right. I should -”

A gentle hand on his arm stopped his words. “You can come with me in Ivy,” she said, nodding towards where the Lion sat. “I. . . I'd like it if you did.”

Shiro could only nod, not sure he'd be able to talk past the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. They began to make their way through the hanger, pushing through the throngs that were still gaping at the Voltron Lion in their midst. He heard Pidge mumble a few words through her radio, and then the public address system in the hanger flared to life.

“ _Hanger 7 – clear for departure.”_

The mass of ordinary folks seemed to groan their disappointment with one voice, but they didn't hesitate to head toward the exits. As the crowd thinned out Shiro was able to see the transport ship waiting, and behind it the outline of the Lion, a stark silhouette against the sunlight outside. He blinked against the sudden rush of tears. “That's a sight for sore eyes,” he whispered.

Pidge softly laughed and reached out to squeeze his hand. “You're such a sap, sir. Come on, let's go!”

They ran the last yards, stopping briefly at the passenger ship so Pidge could make sure everything was ready and secure before departing, and so Shiro could gape when he saw that the ship's pilot was Shay, the Balmeran female they had rescued in one of their first missions as a team. She and Pidge had a quick conversation, then she turned to Shiro and bowed. “It is a pleasure to see you again, sir,” she said with a broad smile.

“And I you,” was Shiro's reply. “But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised.”

Shay laughed. “Some things have changed during your time away, but all good things.” Then she turned to Pidge. “We are ready to leave whenever you are.”

Pidge nodded her acknowledgment and turned to Ivy. As soon as her pilot was close enough the Lion's systems began powering up, the deep thrum of the engines sounding like a cat's purr. The eyes lit up and, at last, the mouth opened and the ramp appeared. Shiro followed behind Pidge, taking a moment to lay one hand against an interior wall. He was rewarded with a soft growl as Ivy recognized him, despite the years apart.

“She remembers me!”

“Of course she does,” Pidge scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “Wait until we get back and you reunite with Sora.” She chuckled. “He's missed you a great deal.”

“Sora?”

“Yup. Guardian spirit of the sky.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, that reminds me!” She ran to one of the storage lockers behind the cockpit and rummaged around for a minute, finally exclaiming in triumph. “Councilor Skolark said it was time to return this to the Voltron Force, and specifically to you.”

In her hands was the Black Bayard. He gently took it from her, careful to use his left hand instead of the cybernetic right one. He felt an unexpected warmth where he had anticipated cold metal. The contact between his hand and the weapon surged with a strange power, but it didn't transform into anything else. It was disappointing, but then he remembered something that Allura had told him.

_The Black Bayard only transforms during a battle, and it can become whatever its paladin wills._

“I expect it'll take a lot of training to master that thing, given it's nature,” Pidge commented, her voice sounding like it came from far away. “I imagine you'll be spending a lot of time dueling with the robot gladiator.”

Shiro didn't even fight the grin on his face as he raised the bayard, transfixed by the light glinting off of its metallic body. “I can hardly wait.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

It took longer to get home than he expected. Pidge explained how the Galra Imperial Council had balked at having one of the wormholes within the boundaries of their main system, so it was set to open a full day's flight outside the Imperial center. “And we brought the castle back to Arus,” she went on to tell him. “Allura thought you would appreciate that; that it would at least feel something like home.”

And when the Green Lion touched down in the familiar grassy field Shiro had to admit that the princess was right. This did feel like home.

Pidge smiled at the expression on his face. “I have to get Ivy settled in her hanger and finish all of the mission paperwork,” she said. “But I'll see you at dinner, all right?” She must have seen something in his eyes because her voice turned concerned. “It's okay, you know. Nothing important has changed in the years since you left. Lance and Keith still bicker, Hunk still cooks, and Coran still frets.”

“Business as usual, then.” Shiro tried to sound normal and nonchalant, but his nerves could not be denied. “Katie -”

“We all missed you, but nobody more than me,” Pidge whispered. “That's why I volunteered to be the one to fetch you. I didn't want anyone else to witness my breakdown when I saw you again.”

“You didn't break down, though,” was the half-joking reply.

“Give me a minute.” A quiet sniffle followed those words, and before he had time to think Shiro found himself holding a sobbing Pidge against his chest, rubbing her back and whispering random nonsense as he tried to calm her.

The emotional storm didn't last long, and she pulled away as soon as the communication system crackled and Shay's voice came over the speakers. “Pidge? We're all clear over here, so I'm getting the ship back to the transport hanger.”

“Umm, yeah, okay. That'll be fine.” Pidge's voice was a little husky so she coughed to clear her throat. “Don't forget to sign off on your post-flight checklist, but once that's done you're dismissed from duty.”

“Yes ma'am!”

The radio clicked off and Shiro stopped trying to contain his laughter. “Look at you, all business and commander like!” he exclaimed. “Sounds like one thing that changed.”

Pidge mock glared at him. “Get out of my Lion and go see everyone else. Sir.”

With an unrepentant grin Shiro followed her “orders”, making his way down the ramp as soon as it opened. The sunlight blinded him for a brief moment, and while he was unable to see he heard shouts and exclamations in a number of familiar voices, and running footsteps coming closer to him. He managed to stay on his feet when the two slender forms of Keith and Lance crashed into him, but they were all bowled over when Hunk arrived.

“Oh my God! I get it, you're all happy to see me, but I can't breathe!” Shiro shoved ineffectually at Lance's head where it rested on his chest. “Get. Off!”

“Gentlemen.” Allura's voice was soft, but it was unmistakably an order. Keith, Lance, and Hunk all sprang up and away from Shiro as quick as they were able, although Keith at least had the presence of mind to offer a hand to help his commander to his feet before stepping away and allowing the princess to come forward. She laid both hands on Shiro's shoulders before leaning in to kiss each of his cheeks. She grinned at the look on his face. “Commander Holt told me that was something of an Earth custom, so I decided it'd be appropriate. Welcome home, Shiro.”

He looked around at the people gathered outside the castle's entrance. He could see Rax and other members of Shay's family as well as a substantial group of native Arusians, but no sign of Pidge's father and brother. “Where are Sam and Matt?” he asked.

Allura and Coran exchanged a look. “The Commander returned home to Earth just a few months after your departure. Young Matthew hung around for a couple of years, then he too returned,” Coran replied. “A shame; we would have liked Matt to stay. He proved to be an excellent pilot. The Black Lion seemed to like him the best of everyone.”

Shiro kept his jaw from dropping in shock, but only just. “Matt Holt flew the Black Lion?”

“On a few patrol missions, yes,” Keith put in. “We've all done so at one time or another. Even Allura.” He shrugged. “It had to be done.”

“The truce agreement with the Galra Imperial Council was to keep the Black Lion and his bonded paladin apart, not to never fly him on patrols,” Allura explained. “It was necessary to have him in the sky as a show of strength.” She smiled. “But he only _tolerated_ other pilots, and has been awaiting your return. Somewhat impatiently, I might add.”

“Then, with your permission, princess, I'd like to skip the rest of the welcome and get straight to what's most important.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Shiro stopped by his old quarters long enough to change into his familiar armor with its black plating. The newly returned bayard fit snugly in the holster on his left hip and he found the weight of it comforting. Everything about being back in the castle was comfortable, and he made his way to the hanger without a single misstep, his memory leading him on the correct path.

The lights inside were dimmed, which he was thankful for. He didn't want to appear weak and overly emotional during this reunion, even though that was how he felt. As soon as he crossed the threshold he heard the whir of servos in motion and the soft growling of the power systems turning on. Yellow lights glowed in the Lion's eyes, and Shiro stepped out of the darkness.

“Hello old friend,” he whispered, looking up into that stoic, robot face. “Katie tells me I need to start calling you Sora now -” a soft purr resonated in his mind “ - I guess you like the name,” he went on with a chuckle. “I meant to ask her if she's given names to all of you but got a little sidetracked.” He dropped a hand down to where the bayard rested in the holster. “We've got some work ahead of us with this thing, I'm sure, and while I know we've done just fine by each other without it I'm really glad it's been returned to us.”

He sighed and sank down, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He had to grin when the Lion – Sora, he reminded himself – moved to lay down, front paws crossed and jaw resting on top of them. “They told me that everyone had a turn at piloting you, and I guess that includes Katie.” He heard a pleased huff, like the feline equivalent of a laugh, that he knew was generated by an energy pulse in the lateral thrusters. “Can I take that to mean you like her? Yeah, I do too. Sometimes I worry that it's maybe a bit too much.” He lay down, flat on his back, and stared at the roof of the hanger, far above them. “She was so young when I left, and now. . .” He sighed. “She's all grown up, and so beautiful. And maybe I didn't age while in cryo-freeze, but I still feel like a dirty old man for even thinking that, and. . . Ugh! I don't know what to think!”

But he found himself remembering that moment, over five years ago, when she had hugged him as if her life depended on it before kissing his cheek and and ordering him to make sure he came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Shiro didn't age at all while frozen so he's still 25. And it was over five years, so that would put Pidge at 19/20.
> 
> Also I have this head canon that despite all looking like lionesses (no manes) the Voltron Lions associate themselves with the gender of their bonded paladins, so the Green Lion will be referred to as "she" and the others as "he".


	3. Troubled

Dinner that evening turned out to be a very subdued affair once the plans for a grand celebration were canceled. Lance spent most of the meal sulking, disappointed at the receding prospect of a party, and making snide remarks about Hunk's latest culinary experiment. Keith did his best to ignore his team mates, but the twitching of his left eyebrow betrayed his rising agitation. The explosion, when it came, was not unexpected, and made all the worse by Allura's distraction.

She hadn't expected Shiro to be present. Besides his stated intent to reunite with his Lion and begin the necessary re-bonding she had seen the signs of exhaustion in his eyes and the uncharacteristic slump of his shoulders. And she herself knew the lingering effects of too long in cryo-freeze; it could be another few days before he completely felt like himself and she wouldn't do anything to slow his recovery.

Pidge's absence, though, was a surprise, and one not easily explained. Over the years since the truce began and Shiro had departed Allura had kept a careful watch on the younger woman, hoping to create a sort of sisterly presence in her life. It hadn't be easy, of course; Pidge was as stubborn as a mule and prickly as a hedgehog. But there had been signs, increasingly common as the years passed, that Pidge was willing to accept the feminine friendship offered, and had blossomed into an incredible woman as a result. Allura's serenity had gone a long way towards tempering much of Pidge's excitability, which had in turn brought about a marked decrease in nervous rambling. They had grown into an understanding, each of the other, that had seemed impossible when they first met.

So it was with some trepidation that Allura set off through the castle to find Pidge, not sure what sort of mood she would find her friend in. She had her suspicions about why Pidge had insisted on being the paladin sent to bring Shiro and the hostages home, but she wasn't about to bring any of that up with the younger woman. She valued her head just where it was, comfortably attached. Long, sometimes painful, experience had taught her to let certain things lie.

She knew better than to check Pidge's quarters first, as it was usually the least likely place to find their best techie. She checked the training deck, just in case the paladin had felt the need to blow off a little steam, then moved on to Pidge's lab. It was unexpectedly empty, so the princess made her way to the transport pod hanger. She knew that Pidge had been working on a few modification to one of the older shuttles, but that wasn't the case now. And the Green Lion's hanger was also empty, which made Allura laugh to herself. _I should have gone straight to her quarters after all._

Three years prior, when it became obvious that Pidge was breaking through some of the masculine facade she had hidden behind for so long, Allura had moved the youngest paladin's quarters out of the crew section of the ship and into a set of rooms in what was the family wing of the castle. It wasn't that she distrusted any of the teenagers, she just thought that Pidge would be more comfortable in an environment that was not so testosterone fueled and (let's face it) smelly. Not that it really made much difference, as the younger woman was still inclined to work at all sorts of odd hours and fall asleep in the strangest places. But the change in quarters at least gave Pidge more privacy than she had had in the crew area, which was primarily why Allura had made the move.

And it seemed that the extra privacy was currently welcome, because as Allura approached the door she heard quiet sniffling and an occasional choked off sob from behind the door. She knocked gently. “Pidge? Can I come in?”

The sounds of crying abruptly stopped, then there were footsteps and the door slid open. “What?” Pidge barked out, but the effect was spoiled by her tear-streaked face and the wad of tissues balled up in one hand.

Allura stepped through the door without a word and took the younger woman by the un-tissued hand and led her to the sofa. “Sit.” The pair of them dropped down on the cushions and Allura grabbed the tissue box before she spoke again. “You didn't come to dinner, and we were all a little worried. Do you want. . .?” The princess blushed a little. “I was going to ask if you wanted to be alone but I've already pushed myself in here, and -” She moved to stand, but Pidge laid a hand on her arm.

“I _did_ want to be alone, but now that you're here I feel surprisingly better,” the paladin said with a tiny smile before snatching a few fresh tissues from the box. “I don't mind it so much when you see me behaving like an idiot.”

Allura made a soft scoffing sound. “When do you ever behave like an idiot?”

Pidge snorted a self-deprecating laugh. “Let me re-phrase: I don't mind when you see me behaving like a _lovesick_ idiot.”

There was no reaction to that clarification other than a quietly spoken “I knew it was a bad idea to send you.” from the princess.

“I volunteered, if you recall.”

“Is that what you're calling it now?” Allura commented, a hint of humor in her voice. “More like insisted, if my memory serves.” The laughter faded, though, as she took one of Pidge's hands in hers. “Was it. . . well, difficult?

Pidge shook her head. “Not at first. I mean, seeing that he hadn't aged at all was a bit of a shock, especially compared to my own growth.” She grinned. “The top of my head is at his nose, now! But then. . .” She sighed. “I saw his face when he took the Black Bayard from my hand, and that was all it took. Between one heartbeat and the next -”

“You fell in love all over again,” Allura finished the thought. “Only. . . Now it's different, isn't it? Less giddy teenager and more adult woman, am I right?”

With a groan Pidge buried her face in her hands. “What the hell am I going to do?!” she wailed, although it came out rather muffled. “I was supposed to grow up and get over this, dammit, not dig myself an even deeper hole! How am I supposed to work with him again? Or even fight? And the team bond – it'll be totally messed up by this! I can't hide it! I. . . Just. . . AAARRRGGGHHH!”

Allura was laughing when Pidge slid off the sofa and rested her head on the low table. “I'm pleased to see that some remnant of the old, nervous, rambling Pidge is still in there.”

With a turn of her head Pidge glared at the older woman. “I'd say what I'm thinking right now but you always tell me to watch my language.”

“And rightfully so,” the princess replied, the haughtiness in her voice spoiled by the grin tugging on the corners of her mouth. “But. . .” She sighed loudly and tugged at a loose lock of her hair. “There is one thing in that rant that you don't have to worry about, you know. Your feelings will not interfere with the team bond. I mean, it never has before, and it'd hardly be the first time that one paladin has fallen in love with another. Or even the first time that said love was reciprocated.”

Pidge finally lifted her head. “Re. . . Reciprocated?”

“Mmm, maybe. Call it a hunch.” Allura rose to her feet and made her way to the door. When it slid open she turned back to Pidge. “I'll have some dinner sent to you, and make sure that Lance, Hunk, and Keith leave you alone. All right?”

“All right. And thank you, Allura.”

With a gentle smile the princess stepped out the door and allowed it to close behind her with a soft swish. Then the smile disappeared and her face set in determination. She had another paladin to track down, after all.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Finding Shiro turned out to be much easier. Allura's connection to all of the lion's made seeing through their eyes a piece of cake, so it wasn't hard to track down where Shiro was hiding out, lying flat on his back in the Black Lion's hanger. She went out of her way to make some noise as she approached him, knowing all too well what he was capable of if startled.

“I didn't think you'd still be here,” she said when she was just a few feet away, then waited patiently for a response.

Shiro stirred, sitting up and stretching his arms up as the Black Lion raised his head. “Mmm, I didn't realize it was getting late,” he said, crossing his legs at the ankles and leaning back on his hands. “I think I'm still adjusting to the concept of time after five years in a cryo chamber. That'll mess anyone up, I think.”

“Five years is for lightweights. Try ten thousand.”

Shiro had to laugh at that, especially Allura's use of such an Earth-y term as “lightweights”. “Okay, point taken.” He tilted his head back to look up at the jaw of the Black Lion, towering above them. “I have missed all of this, though. But I do wonder how much I was missed.” He glanced at Allura out of the corner of one eye. “I understand that pretty much every capable pilot flew my friend, here. Even you.”

“Does that bother you?” Allura asked, finally sitting on the floor beside him. “It shouldn't, you know. Even those of us that he likes as people he really only tolerated as pilots, and the only person he let touch him for maintenance was Pidge. He even accepted the name she gave him.” Her face twisted in a grimace. “Although no one will tell me what it means.”

“It means 'sky' in Japanese. Sora.”

“Japanese?”

“The language of my family and my ancestors,” Shiro explained.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Allura replied with a nod. “I sometimes forget that Earth has so many different languages and cultures. It's very unlike where I grew up.”

“It connects us to home, though. Remembering, I mean.” He looked back up at the Lion. “And he seems to like the name.” There was the deep, rumbling purr of the engines, making both of them laugh. “Either that or he just really likes Pidge. I'm not sure which.”

Neither spoke for long minutes, content with the silence and each other's company. It was peaceful, without conflict or expectation. It was a sensation that Shiro had long associated with Allura's presence, and it enabled him to truly relax for what felt like the first time since he had emerged out of cryo-freeze.

It couldn't last, and he knew it. There was always something. Even with the possibilities suggested by a truce the fight really wasn't at an end. Just temporarily postponed.

But still. . .

“Would you like to go home, Shiro? For a little while, at least.”

“Home?” His eyes widened. “I. . . I haven't thought about it. “I mean. . .”

“The others were all able to return to Earth to visit their homes and families,” Allura went on. “I know that the current truce is expiring, but while negotiations are on for another one I see no reason why you shouldn't make the same trip.” She smiled at the look of stupefaction on his face. “We were able to stabilize a wormhole to reach your system, so we now have steady contact with Earth. You should take advantage of that.”

Home. The word resonated in Shiro's head. His last home had been Galaxy Garrison, but he could still remember another home, another world, far removed from all of that. Mountains, crystal clear rivers and streams, deep lakes. A city on the ocean that connected the water and the sky. The shrine that his father's family had been keepers of for generations. The bright red _torii_ gate and the prayers that covered the lower branches of the sacred tree. His grandmother's favorite pink yukata that blended with the _sakura_ when the cherry trees were in bloom and his aunt's fabulous cooking, especially the world's greatest yakisoba.

Home.

“I. . . I think I would like to go home for a while, if it can be managed.”

Allura nodded once before standing up. “I'm sure we can work something out,” she said. “It may not be right away: I'd appreciate your advice and counsel during the current round of negotiations, after all. But when things settle down again I'll make sure you are at the top of the list for a vacation.”

Shiro felt his smile widen as he rose to his feet. “That would be perfect, thank you.” His eyes were still locked on the Black Lion's head, and Allura watched him tug his gloves on a little tighter.

“You're not going to bed?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not yet. I think there's still a little bit of bonding to be done.” And then he laughed as his Lion – Sora's – head dropped and his mouth opened, revealing the ramp to the cockpit.

He didn't notice the honey-haired figure figure watching the lion take flight from just inside the hanger's doorway.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Breakfast the next morning was something of a celebration, even with the slight awkwardness caused by Shiro's renewed presence in their midst. It had started when Keith had slid into the chair that had been his for five years, only then remembering that it had been Shiro's before. But the older man had only chuckled lightly and, with a shake of his head, took the empty seat between Pidge and Shay. Hunk's joy at having their commander and friend back was shown in the lavishness of the meal, and even Lance was moved to keep the smart-ass comments to a minimum.

The last may have been caused by Pidge's foot making painful contact with his shin, of course, but Shiro was willing to accept the situation however it came about.

Keith and Hunk were scheduled to fly the morning patrol so they left the castle immediately after breakfast. Lance quickly disappeared, probably to avoid the possibility of a sparring session on the training deck. Allura and Coran were tied up with representatives of the Imperial Council, which left Shiro with only Pidge as a training partner.

A fact which caused some lingering discomfort, but he covered it with a confident smile. “Looks like it's you and me, kiddo,” he said with an amused lift of his eyebrows. “Feel up to a bit of a spar?”

Pidge groaned. “Not really, although I'd be a fool to not take advantage of this chance to finally beat your ass.” She grinned and rose to her feet. “Meet you on the training deck in twenty minutes.”

Half an hour later Shiro's back made painful contact with the floor of the training deck for the second time. The only sounds in the room were his strained breathing and the faint _whir_ as the grappling hook and rope assembly of Pidge's bayard unwrapped from his legs and retracted back to the weapon. Then Pidge's face entered his field of vision, upside-down as she bent over him. “You're a lot faster than I remember,” he said, grimacing as he sat up.

“Or you're a lot slower,” Pidge joked, dropping down to sit beside him. “But you shouldn't be surprised. I've had five years of training that you missed out on, not to mention extra height, increased muscle mass, a longer reach -”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Shiro cut in with a wave of one hand.

“I think you've also lost a bit of your skill in fighting left-handed,” she went on as if he hadn't spoken. “And while it's always best to fight another human being you probably need a bit of time with one of the robot gladiators. I can re-program one to make certain it always attacks on your left side, if you want.”

He nodded once. “That's a good idea. I appreciate it, Katie.”

“I also. . . umm. . .” She was clearly uncomfortable now, glancing around the room, eyes everywhere but on Shiro. “I'd like to take a look at your prosthetic. That head Galra medic gave me information and specifications on it while you were still in cryo-freeze. He said he thought I'd have a better chance of fixing it to eliminate, or at least reduce, some of the more painful side effects of its use. The Druid witch that designed that thing didn't really care about stuff like a user's comfort.” She swallowed hard. “If you'll let me, of course.”

He looked down at his right hand where it was resting on the floor. As always happened when he consciously thought about the thing he had to make an effort to push down the instinctive revulsion that clouded his mind. He could hear the laughter of the witch, Haggar, as her magic completed what science had begun, fusing the cybernetic limb to biological flesh. A sensation like a burn sprung up across his bicep, and he had to force himself to stay still and not rub at the area where the two were joined.

“ -ro! Shiro! Takashi!”

He snapped out of his thoughts when Pidge called him by his first name, looking up to meet her concerned gaze. Amber eyes searched his for a long moment before she shifted away, apparently satisfied that he had managed to exit whatever memories had taken hold of him.

He didn't think he could ever tell her that those memories, and the pain they brought, were an almost constant thing.

“I. . . I'll be happy to have you look at this,” he replied, lifting his right arm to her line of sight. “But it might have to wait a couple of days. Allura wants me to be available for advice and input during the negotiations, and between that and all the training I need -” Pidge gleefully snorted at that. “ - I think my days are going to be pretty occupied.”

“Well, that's okay, because I was. . . Well, I thought that it might be better. . .” She sighed and pushed a hand through her messy hair. “Allura told me that she's going to send you home, and I thought I'd go with you. That way you're in a more relaxed atmosphere and I can get my Dad's help with. . . You know. Your arm.”

Shiro's eyes widened. “You. . . You want to work on my arm at home? On Earth?”

“Is that a problem?”

It wouldn't be, except time alone, just he and Pidge, without all of the distractions of the team and their mission, was bound to be disastrous in one way or another. Just the thought was making him blush, and it didn't take a genius to know that long hidden feelings weren't likely to stay under wraps for much longer.


	4. Questions

“Why are they being so damned stubborn this time around?” Keith exclaimed, sitting forward in his seat, looking like he was ready to punch the first person who spoke to him. But when Allura laid a restraining hand on his arm he subsided, leaning back in his chair with a final few angry mutters.

“Five years ago their entire world and political system had been thrown into disarray,” Coran replied as he settled into his own chair. “It wasn't much of a surprise that they agreed to everything we asked; they needed time and space to get some themselves together.”

“And they have apparently now done so, so we'll have a much more difficult time with these negotiations,” Allura added. Then she bit her lip. “I just hope they don't repeat their demand about having one of you be a hostage.”

“They more than likely will, since it worked for them the last time,” Shiro commented

“I nominate Lance,” Pidge mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

“HEY!”

“Shut it, you two,” Keith put in, forestalling the argument before it could get started. Shiro watched the by-play, happily surprised at Keith's steady and mature leadership, as well as the other's response to it. He could tell that he was going to need to keep reminding himself that five years had passed.

But the conversation was still going on around him, so he pulled his attention back. “The way I see it we have two choices,” Keith was saying. “We can drop the issue of hostages all together or ask for something in return that they would be extremely reluctant to give us.”

Coran gave him a calculating look. “What do you have in mind?” he asked.

Keith's smile had a definite predatory edge to it. “We demand access to the records of the Druid trial and execution.”

Everyone else smiled and nodded in agreement, but Shiro felt his jaw drop. “Ex. . . Execution?!”

Allura turned to look at him with a sigh. “My apologies, Shiro. It seems we – all of us – keep forgetting all of the things that you have missed.” She nodded to Coran, who tapped on the tabletop to open a heads-up display.

“You know that there was rebellion brewing against the Imperial Council, correct?”

Shiro nodded. “That's why we were put in cryo-freeze. To protect us, they said.”

The picture on the display changed, showing what could only be described as a riot. There was a date and time stamp in the lower left hand corner of the picture, and Shiro could see that it was from almost a month after he and the other hostages had been put under. “The Council made that decision with regard to you and the others only partly for your protection,” Coran went on, swiping the display and showing other pictures, all of violent clashes in the Imperial capital. “Mainly they froze you so they could have ready access to bargaining chips if the rebel leaders gained the upper hand. Which would have happened, except. . .”

The picture on the display changed, this time to a video, and Shiro sucked in a surprised breath. Two shadowy figures, clad in dark purple, hooded robes, were moving through the boisterous crowd. They would occasionally lay a hand on the shoulder of someone they passed, and that person immediately became more aggressive and belligerent. Like magic.

“Druids,” he whispered, glancing at Coran.

“Exactly,” the Altean man replied. “Once it became clear that a group of Druids was manipulating events for their own purposes the rebellious commanders backed off and joined forces with the Council. The result was the trial and execution of three prominent Druids for the assassination of Zarkon.”

“It was all a sham, of course,” Allura spoke up, sending a shiver through the group at how hard and cold her voice was. “The three that they managed to catch were low-ranking witches, barely out of their apprenticeships. Highly unlikely that they could have been the masterminds behind such a skillfully executed plan as Zarkon's assassination. But it all looked good on paper, so. . .”

“Not that we have any proof of that,” Keith added. “And so far the Imperial Council has done everything possible to avoid the subject. Which is why I say pressing for those records is our best counter to any demand they make with regard to the team or Voltron. If we bring it up they'll back down.” He cocked his head to one side as if listening to a voice unheard by anyone else. “Eldur's calling; must be time for our patrol.” He rose to his feet and left the room, followed by Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. Only Pidge turned around at the last minute with a smile and a wave.

When the door slid shut after them Shiro exhaled gustily and moved to face Allura and Conan. “Eldur?”

Allura laughed. “Another one of Pidge's names, this time for the Red Lion. She said it means 'fire' in. . . What Earth language was it again, Coran?”

“I believe the term was Icelandic, princess.”

Shiro laughed and shook his head. “Icelandic,” he managed to whisper around his chuckles. Then the rest of what had just happened hit him. “Wait, why are all four of them going on patrol? I thought it was only two at a time?”

“Every third day the entire demilitarized zone is our responsibility, so everyone goes out,” Allura explained. “In fact I should be joining them, but we have that meeting scheduled. . .”

“I could go.”

The princess looked surprised, but then shook her head. “No, not today. I want you back in the air as much as you want to be there but I'd rather you start with the smaller-scale patrols. Coran?”

“You'll be flying with Lance tomorrow morning.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

_What did I do to deserve this?_ , Shiro thought as he scrubbed his face with one hand. He had removed his helmet when they were only four minutes into the patrol flight but Lance's voice was still audible, even if he couldn't make out the words. It was a non-stop commentary on who-knew-what, and he just didn't feel like he could handle that today. Not that he didn't respect and care about the Blue Paladin, but there were limits on how much he could take.

Lance launched into a new story (Shiro could tell by the way his tone of voice changed), something about shelling and sand dollars. Shiro caught the name of a place – Gasparilla Island – before his companion's voice was abruptly cut off. The sudden silence was almost scary, so he quickly snatched his helmet back up and put it on. “Lance? Lance?!”

A quiet chuckle that was distinctly not Lance's sounded in his ears. “I cut the audio feed,” Pidge's voice came clearly across the com system. “I know what he's like while on patrol and thought you might appreciate the peace and quiet.”

Shiro was on the verge of heartily thanking her when something else occurred to him. “Wait, what if something happens? What if he gets in trouble? What -?”

Another chuckle. “Oh ye of little faith.”

“Katie.”

Now it was a full-throated laugh. “Relax, Shiro. The com system is tied into the life support system. I have it programmed so if Lance shows any signs of stress - elevated heart rate or blood pressure, for example – the coms will automatically kick back in. Just another one of my brilliant ideas.”

“Are all the Lions programmed like that?”

Pidge snorted. “Of course they are; I know my business, after all. Maji was the test subject, though. I knew that at the very least Keith would have the coms shut off whenever he was in the air with Lance.”

“Maji?” Shiro asked with a laugh. “I'm gonna assume that means 'water' in some language or other -”

“Swahili.”

“What?”

“It means 'water' in Swahili,” Pidge replied with just a hint of hauteur. “And before you ask the last one is Lupa, which is Filipino for -”

“'Earth',” Shiro supplied with a chuckle. “I'm sensing a pattern here, but there is one thing I don't understand. Why Ivy?”

“She's mine.” Shiro could almost hear the shrug. “I wanted her name to be unique. Besides I didn't really like any of the translations. Wald? Skov? Coille? No thanks.”

“Mori,” Shiro whispered, his mind's eye filled with great swathes of trees stretched across mountainsides.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head to clear the image. “What about Altean? Do they have a word for forest?”

“I asked Allura and she made a sound that was like a combination of a dog barking and someone choking on a grape,” Pidge said, laughing. “I'm still not even sure it was a word; for all I know she _was_ choking on a grape.”

“Guess that's a no, then.”

“That's a hell no,” Pidge replied.

She fell silent after that, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Shiro felt better, knowing she was keeping an eye on things during his first patrol since returning. And yes, he was glad that she had managed to block Lance's unending speech. He'd never admit that to anyone but himself, of course, but in that sense at least he was honest.

But then the com clicked in his ear and he could hear Lance again, briefly, before Pidge's voice cut in. “Guys, you've got an unauthorized ship approaching sector 14 Zulu. Scanner signature suggests it's a cargo transporter, but we can't get a clear read on what it's carrying.”

“I'll check it out,” Lance replied, all business, before his Lion rocketed off in that direction.

“Should I go with him?” Shiro asked, unsure of mission protocol in such a situation.

“No, stay in your current sector,” Pidge replied. “I've got eyes and ears on him, so -”

She was cut off by a loud explosion that echoed through the com system. Before he was even aware of doing so Shiro had changed direction, setting Sora on course toward the still visible explosion. He could hear Pidge's loud exclamations and Allura's agitated voice, but it was background noise compared to what he was straining to – hoping to – hear.

“Whew! That was a close one!”

A joint sigh of relief was clearly audible before Pidge started shouting. “Dammit, Lance! What the _quiznack_ happened?!”

“Not sure,” was the reply. Shiro was now close enough to see the Blue Lion, intact and unharmed, hovering beside the still-smoking wreck of a Galra _Kenlos_ Class cargo ship. “I was still some distance out when it blew.”

“You're not harmed, are you?” Allura's worried voice cut in.

“Maybe a little singed, but nothing major.” The thrusters on Maji's rear paws engaged as Lance steered around the far side of the wreck; Shiro's heart was in his throat for the few seconds that the Blue Lion wasn't visible. “Yeah, I see it now. There's a lot of engine damage but I don't think that caused the explosion. There's a pretty big hole through the hull plating just above the main load door,” Lance went on before flying back around and bringing his Lion to a stop beside Sora. “That's the only external damage I can see.”

“Deliberate?” Allura's voice was harsh.

“No way to know for sure without bringing this hulk back to the Castle.”

“Understood. I'll send Keith and Hunk out to continue the patrol while you two get that thing in tow. Whatever happened I want answers.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Shiro wasted very little time once they were back in the Castle. He left Lance with Coran to be checked over despite the younger man's protestations that he was fine and then made his way to the transport pod hangar that they had left the cargo wreck in. He didn't even bother with a quick stop off to wash the sweat from his face. Still clad in his armor and carrying his helmet he burst through the doors. “Well?!” he asked, looking up to where Pidge was perched just behind the cockpit.

He heard a scoffing sound. “I've only been looking for ten minutes, Shiro,” she replied. “It'd be pretty hard to tell anything in that amount of time.” The sound of the jet pack on the back of Pidge's armor was loud in the cavernous space, then she landed beside him. “I can tell you one thing: the hole above the main load door corresponds to the source of the explosion. But right now that's all I know.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “Is Lance all right?”

“Coran's got him in one of the healing pods for an evaluation,” Shiro replied, eyes locked on one of the cargo ships damaged engines. “Although if the volume of his ranting about not needing to be checked over is anything to go by he's fine.”

The corner of Pidge's mouth twitched. “That sounds like him.” Then she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I should get back to work; Allura wants answers as fast as I can get them.”

“So do I.” He rested a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I have to go and report to Allura right now otherwise I'd help you,” he went on. “I'll make sure Hunk joins you as soon as he and Keith get back, okay?”

Pidge nodded and activated the jet pack, floating back to the top of the ship. “Allura's in the main control room,” she said, pulling a scanner out of her bag of tools. “She said she wanted a personal conversation with Councilor Skolark.”

With that extra motivation it didn't take Shiro long to arrive at the control room. He quietly slipped inside and moved around the room until he was behind the princess and could clearly see the Galra council member on the displays. And once he was close enough he caught the conversation.

“I'm not accusing you, or the Council, of anything,” Allura sighed with a frustrated noise. “I'm simply asking to see any records related to _Kenlos_ Class vessels – maintenance records, flight plans, cargo manifests – from the last week. It may give us a clue as to how one of those ships, unmanned, got into our patrol sector of the demilitarized zone. We can deal with the question of it exploding once we know why it did so.”

“There are no records for the last week, Princess. I told you that the _Kenlos_ Class was decommissioned over a year ago. There are none left in active service.”

Allura's face reddened and she opened her mouth, no doubt to respond angrily, so Shiro stepped forward, entering the field of vision of both of them. “Decommissioned or not, Councilor, there is a ship of that class currently sitting in one of our hangar bays, severely damaged from an explosion that we have no idea how it occurred. Surely you have records related to the disposal of the _Kenlos_ Class after the decommissioning.”

Skolark looked uncomfortable for a long moment, his eyes everywhere but meeting Shiro's or Allura's. Finally, with a gusty sigh and drooping shoulders he acknowledged their request. “If you have the identification number of the ship in your possession it will expedite matters,” he said, still avoiding their gazes.

“I'll instruct our technicians to make that a priority,” Allura replied, exchanging a look with Shiro, who simply nodded. “Of course if the Council would send some of your people to assist us with our investigation things could proceed much more quickly.”

“I'll relay your message to the rest of the Council,” Skolark said with a shake of his head. “They may not be. . . eager to send someone, but I believe it would be beneficial to have as many eyes on the situation as possible.”

“Then we'll wait to hear from you tomorrow,” was Allura's final statement before turning off the communication channel. Once Skolark disappeared from the displays she turned to Shiro with a questioning look.

“Lance is with Coran getting checked over to make absolutely certain he's all right, and complaining all the while” he reported. “Pidge hasn't had enough time to determine anything yet, but she said the hole in the hull above the loading bay door is definitely connected to the source of the explosion. Beyond that is anybody's guess right now.

Allura nodded, expression thoughtful. “Until we know whether or not the Galra will send someone to assist the investigation I want Hunk with her on this. Coran will help as well, as much as his other responsibilities allow.”

“I was hoping you would say that.”

“Why? What's bothering you?”

“I can't stop thinking about what you told me about those three Druids yesterday,” Shiro replied. “And all the evidence that they were manipulating the circumstances around the rebellion five years ago.”

“You think what's left of the Druids could be connected to this, don't you?” Allura's gaze was piercing.

“Don't _you_?” Shiro tossed the words back to her with asperity. Then he sighed and scrubbed his face with his left hand. “I'm sorry; I don't mean to make it sound like you're not taking this seriously. And this is one of many possibilities, I know that. Besides, as of right now we don't even know if the explosion was deliberate.”

“Oh, it was deliberate all right.”

They both turned to Pidge, who had entered the room unnoticed as they talked. She had soot smudged on her forehead and was clenching something in one hand. When she got close enough she opened her hand to display a battered insignia of some sort. Parts of it were bent out of shape, but it was still recognizable. Shiro sucked in his breath.

“What? What is that?” Allura asked, confused.

“It's my pilot's wings from the Kerberos mission,” Shiro whispered. He reached out a hand and brushed against the metal before looking up and meeting Pidge's eyes. “Where. . .” He swallowed hard. “Where did you find it?”

“Stuck to the center of the cockpit's main control panel.” Pidge looked uncomfortable for a moment before giving a more specific answer. “It was immediately to the right of what would be the pilot's control stick.”

Shiro's robotic right hand clenched into a fist. “A message,” he said, feeling a flare of anger.

Pidge nodded. “That's what I thought,” she softly said. “I know it's not in any way conclusive, but. . .”

“You thought right,” Shiro replied as his left hand covered the wings and closed around her smaller one. He turned to Allura. “Still think I'm a little off-base to wonder about those Druid remnants?”

For countless minutes Allura looked uncertain and very young as she turned the facts and circumstances around in her mind. Then her expression hardened. “Never mind the latest negotiations,” she said to Shiro. “You're leaving for Earth as soon as I can get a wormhole open. And you're taking Sora.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Two hours later they were all gathered in the Black Lion's hangar and Shiro felt an almost overwhelming desire to laugh at the feeling of deja vu. The only difference this time was that he would have only his Lion as a companion, and it was ostensibly a vacation. Otherwise it may as well have been a total repeat of the scene just over five years ago. Allura approached him with last minute instructions before he ascended the ramp.

“Keep Sora out of sight as best you can,” she told him, laying a hand on one mechanical paw as she spoke. “I want to be able to use the absence of one Lion in our negotiations but would rather not advertise where he's gone to.”

“I understand,” Shiro acknowledged with a smile. Still, he was wondering how in the hell he was going to be able to disguise the Lion's presence. Filing that thought away under _I'll cross that bridge when I come to it_ he made his farewells to his friends and crew mates, accepted a special care package of food from Hunk, and then made his way toward the cockpit.

Steps thundered up the ramp behind him. “Shiro!”

He grinned before turning around to face Pidge. “There's no need to beg me to return this time, you know.”

She scowled as a blush crept up her cheeks. “I didn't beg you before, as I remember it. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be following you in about a week, so make the most of your time before I arrive.” She smiled. “Oh, and I made some modifications to the cloaking feature.” She sat in the pilot's chair and the Lion purred slightly. “This button activates a retro-reflector system, which will hide Sora from above while still allowing him to be visible at ground level. It uses power more efficiently than the full cloak, so it's a good option.” She shrugged. “We don't really have any idea how Balmeran crystals will react to being on Earth, so better safe than sorry.”

“Sounds good; thanks, Katie.” He took her hand and helped her out of the chair. The rather cramped confines of the cockpit pushed them close together, and Shiro didn't immediately release her hand. “I'll be waiting for your arrival,” he said. “I'm not sure where I'll be, but -”

Pidge shook her head. “Don't worry, I'll find you. Or at the very least I'll find Sora.” Then she stepped closer and tugged on his hand, bringing his head down towards hers. “Fly safe, Takashi,” she breathed as she kissed his cheek before bounding back down the ramp, leaving a bemused and blushing paladin in her wake.


	5. Difficulties

_The pervasive, inky blackness was a familiar landscape. He floated in it, drifting along as if caught in a tide, the darkness an almost physical thing that pressed against him, chilling his skin and staining his soul._

_There were voices in the darkness; there always were. It was a menacing, wordless rumble that never failed to set his nerves on edge, especially when he couldn't make out what was being said. Those whispers, in familiar voices, were the worst._

_There were the yellow eyes that occasionally pierced the blackness; eyes that watched him, waiting. A part of him knew who those eyes belonged to, just like he knew the loudest of the voices, but he refused to face that knowledge for as long as he could._

_But sometimes it couldn't be ignored. The darkness faded a little as a faint green glow appeared. It grew stronger and brighter, it's aura so familiar that he was tempted to call it by name. But that would invite the voices to know._

“ _If I break her will that break you?”_

_His mouth dropped open in a silent scream._

Shiro's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright, sweat cooling on his bare skin. The nightmare was simple, but no less terrifying for all that. He could feel a burning sensation and looked down to see a pale purple light encasing his right hand. The stress and fear of the nightmare had caused the prosthetic to partially activate, so he focused on getting his strained breathing under control, focused on a feeling of calm. The purple light faded, although slower than it usually did in such cases. When it was completely gone he heaved a sigh of relief and got to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand.

He moved across the small room, bare feet making no sound on the cold tatami mats. When he had first arrived back at his family home he had made a point of telling his aunt and cousin that he would sleep in one of the smaller guest houses that were part of the shrine complex, although he hadn't said anything about why. Keiko-baachan had been puzzled, but Tohoku had put the brakes on any questions, simply nodding in agreement. The expression on his face had seemed to indicate that he and his cousin would, indeed, be having a conversation on the subject, but at some later date.

Shiro pushed open the shouji door and stumbled to a halt. Tohoku was sitting on the porch, calmly sipping a cup of tea and watching the sunrise. Another steaming cup sat beside him. “Join me?” he asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be sociable with a cousin plagued by nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Shirogane Tohoku was easily a full head shorter than his younger cousin, although approximately twice his bulk. In fact he looked more like a sumo wrestler than a Shinto priest, a fact that never failed to make him laugh when someone pointed it out. He didn't glance that way when the other man dropped to sit at his side, legs crossed. A slight grin touched his features when Shiro took a sip of tea and sighed.

“This was always my favorite spot to watch a sunrise, even when we were kids,” Tohoku quietly said, gesturing towards the expansive lake. “It's something about the way the light hits the water, I think.”

Shiro swallowed some more tea. “I always thought that the peace of this exact spot is what convinced you to become a priest.”

“You might just be right about that,” Tohoku replied with a laugh. “It is my favorite place in the whole complex.” Then he fell silent, simply sipping his tea and watching as the light in the east strengthened, going from dove grey to a delicate shell pink, before the sun broke over the nearby mountain in a blaze of orange. Shiro was starting to feel calmer, even a little drowsy, when he finally spoke again.

“Oka-chan was worried about you, you know? For years. I don't think she ever believed that you had died on that mission, no matter what those Garrison folks said.” Tohoku chuckled low in his throat. “You should have seen her face when those friends of yours – the Paladins? - came by with news of you.”

“I'm sorry,” Shiro whispered, not really sure what he was apologizing for. For years of being out of touch? For keeping them in the dark about everything? Not that he really had a choice about either of those, all things considered. Most everything had been so out of his control that it wasn't even funny.

“You don't owe us an apology. Not now, not ever. Family forgives, you know?” Tohoku stood and moved to lean against the porch rail, still staring out across the lake. “And the one guy who came – Keith, I think – gave us a pretty good idea of what your life had become.” he shook his head. “I honestly didn't understand one word in five, but I got the general idea. Defending the universe from evil alien dictators, huh? Sounds just like something you'd get mixed up in.”

“I haven't done much 'defending' for the last five years,” Shiro responded with a wry laugh, then before he was even aware of it he was telling his cousin everything: being captured on Kerberos, escaping, the first Lion and the trip to Arus, battle after battle after battle, and then finally about the assassination and the truce. “After that other experience I honestly never though I would let myself be a prisoner again, let alone volunteer for it!”

“You protected your crew, though. Just like a leader is supposed to.” The sun was much higher in the sky now, the early morning mist burning off and the temperature rising. During Shiro's recital of his experiences Tohoku had turned to face him and half-sat, half-leaned on the railing, arms crossed over his expansive chest. Then a grin creased his face. “So you seriously didn't age at all while you were frozen?”

Shiro laughed. “ _That's_ what you're taking away from the entire story?”

“For now,” Tohoku replied. “We can get into the rest of it some other time, if you like, especially who, exactly, Katie is.” Shiro flushed and his cousin laughed. “But instead of more talk how about a little workout? I bet the dojo is exactly how you remember it, and I even promise not to hurt you. Much.”

“Sparring with you always hurts; you've got fists like rocks.”

“So is that a 'no', then?”

Shiro looked down at his right arm, watching as the metallic hand clenched into a fist. “I want to, but. . .”

Tohoku followed his cousin's eyes, then clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don't worry,” he said, softly. “I trust you.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Fuck!”

“Language, Pidge.”

“Fuck fuck fuckity FUCK!”

Coran's head appeared from out of the engine compartment it had been hidden in. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, tone carefully neutral.

“What I want – _Shit!_ \- is to get this damned cowling – _Fuck!_ \- to come loose so I can -” With a loud screech of metal the cover of the thruster housing gave way, toppling Pidge backwards and sending the cowling arcing across the hanger. “Dammit!” she exclaimed, pressing her mouth to a shallow cut across the heel of her hand.

“Give it here,” Coran commanded, having approached while she sat trying to get her simmering anger under control. He pulled the standard first aid pouch out of his pocket and started to disinfect the cut, smiling when Pidge sucked in a breath at the sting. “I know you're worried, and frustrated that this is taking so long,” he spoke in a soothing voice as he bandaged her hand. “But I need you to be calm and focused.” He glance up briefly and met her eyes. “And so does he.”

Pidge's eyes widened and she seemed to have stopped breathing. But after a long moment she chuckled softly. “Am I so obvious that everyone knows?” she asked

“I wouldn't say 'knows',” was the reply. “Allura and I know, Hunk suspects, Keith has a feeling that he can't quite put his finger on, and Lance is oblivious. As usual.”

“That sounds about right,” Pidge replied, making both of them laugh, but then she sobered, blinking against a sudden rush of tears. “I told him a week, Coran, and we've been working on this -” She kicked the side of the wrecked cargo vessel. “On this piece of shit for eleven days.”

It was eleven days full of frustration. The Imperial Council had decided against sending any technicians or mechanics to assist and Pidge had been taken off of the regular patrol rotation to focus on the investigation. Hunk and Coran were only sporadically able to assist her so it was slow going. The fact that every possible place that the ship's identification number might have been etched was damaged was so far the only progress they had made. That it was a sort of negative progress made things even worse.

Except it was one more proof of Pidge's suspicion that the explosion had been deliberate, and that Shiro was the target. But they still hadn't figured out what had caused the explosion. She was beginning to think they never would; whoever had planned it was an expert at covering their tracks.

Or they had a little help from something more than science to do so.

Years ago Pidge would have scoffed at any suggestion that magic was real. But after almost six years as a Paladin of Voltron, seeing things that were so outside the narrow experience of life on Earth, she had started to change her mind. The Druids had shown themselves capable of many things beyond the realm of scientific explanation, and she had learned to accept that. Not stop fighting against it, of course, but accept it.

And because she knew Shiro believed the Druids were behind the exploding cargo vessel she would do whatever she had to in order to prove it. Even though that meant being separated from him for longer than expected. And since the best way to get back to being with him was to solve the mystery in front of her she leaned forward and started to scan what was left of the thruster, looking for any clue as to what had happened.

She really hadn't expected to find one so quickly. “Hello!” she breathed out, trying to still the excitement rising in her chest.

“Did you find something?” Coran asked, moving closer to look for himself. “What is it?”

Pidge grinned. “You'd better get the princess down here. She'll want to see this.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“What am I looking at, exactly?”

“That, princess, is the remains of a phial of quintessence,” Pidge replied, waiting for the implications of that fact to sink in.

It didn't take long, of course. One of Pidge's favorite things about the years of working with Allura was the princess's quick intelligence and ability to piece disparate facts together. Explanations never took long when Allura was more than capable of keeping up. “Show me the rest,” the princess said with a sharp nod.

Pidge led both Allura and Coran around to the other side of the ship, entering the hold through the main loading door. The damage caused by the explosion was much more obvious in this section: besides the hole in the hull there were burn marks on the walls and twisted hunks of metal that were probably the remains of cargo containers. The trio carefully picked their way across the space, fetching up against the interior wall that covered the thruster housing. With a few twists of a screwdriver and judicious use of pliers Pidge popped the cover off so they could see what was visible from the outside at a different angle.

And it wasn't a lot to see, but it was telling. There were a few half-melted pieces of the phial on the interior side of the thruster housing, and a distinct burn pattern that covered approximately eight inches of the floor, clearly spreading in the direction of the loading door. Pidge pulled a device out of one of the capacious pockets of the jumpsuit she wore over her clothes. “I made a few modifications to this blacklight I picked up on my last trip home,” she said, switching it on. “It should. . . Ah, there? Do you see it?””

Three sets of eyes followed a glowing, sickly, orange trail across the floor of the cargo bay. Followed as Pidge shifted the light to reveal how it climbed the wall before disappearing into the mess of jumbled wires and burnt insulation that covered the hole in the ship's side. There were even specks of orange visible in the detritus of the explosion.

“Quintessence was used as a. . . a. . . trigger!” Allura exclaimed.

“I think accelerant would be a better term,” Pidge said, shutting off the blacklight after collecting a sample. “I think what happened was that the heat in the thruster housing shattered the phial, creating a small scale explosion. Then it followed what I suspect was a pre-laid trail of quintessence and, as you said, triggered the main explosion.”

Allura didn't respond immediately; her focus was turned inward as she ruminated on everything they had just learned. Pidge, although eager to get to her lab and figure out just how quintessence had been altered for this particular use, didn't press the issue. Years of sometimes painful experience had finally taught her the value of patience, of waiting to have all the facts before jumping into action. Waiting on Allura's decision of what to do next was easy compared to some of the other things she had waited on.

Finally the princess seemed to come back to awareness and looked at her two companions. “I need advice,” she quietly said. “Do we tell the Galra what we've discovered?”

Pidge started; it had never crossed her mind that keeping this to themselves would be an option. “I. . . I'm not sure,” she finally replied. “Why do you want to keep this a secret?”

“For the sake of any – ANY – chance of a permanent peace we can't keep this to ourselves,” Coran said. “But there's no requirement for _when_ we tell them.”

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Allura's mouth. “Exactly what I was thinking,” she said.

Pidge looked back and forth between the two Alteans, confusion plain on her face. “We're not going to risk the outcome of this latest round of negotiations, so secrets are not an option,” Coran explained. “However, choosing how to reveal what we know is entirely acceptable.”

“If, for example, we wait until we have all of the records pertaining to the decommissioning of the _Kenlos_ Class ships. . .” Allura went on, leaving an opening for Pidge to connect all of the dots.

Which she did, in fairly short order, after that. “Politics is such a messy business,” she said with a grin. “Think I'll stick with science.”

“Probably a good idea,” was Allura's laughing reply. Then she turned serious again. “And it's the best thing for us right now, because I want every imaginable test run on that sample. I want to have as much information as possible before I bring this up to the Imperial Council.” Her gaze hardened. “This explosion may have been a part of a greater Druid plot, but I will not countenance more executions based on the flimsiest of evidence.”

Neither Pidge nor Coran could argue with that.

****~**~**~**~**~****

_The view from the floor of the dojo is becoming depressingly familiar_ , Shiro thought to himself as he lay on the tatami mats, chest heaving with every breath. It was the fourth day of early morning workouts with his cousin, and he was starting to think he had permanently lost whatever skills in hand-to-hand combat he had once possessed. Tohoku's gloating certainly didn't make him feel any better.

“Are you sure you were only frozen for five years?” the older man asked, laughter bubbling under his words. He held out a hand and tugged his cousin to his feet. “It had to be longer than that.”

Shiro snorted and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “It's not like I could ever really beat you in a spar before,” he said. “You're ridiculously fast for a man of your. . .” He looked up and smirked. “Bulk,” the sentence finished.

Tohoku feigned indignation. “Seriously, Taka? Is that how you want to play this?”

With a grunt Shiro dropped down to sit on the mats. “Honestly? I don't want to play at all anymore.” He glanced to the right, out the open door that overlooked the looming forest. “It's probably time I pay another visit to my Lion and check if there's been any communication from the Castle.” He saw the look in his cousin's eyes and smiled. “Did you want to come with me?”

The hike up the mountain to the clearing where he had hidden Sora took almost an hour. Conversation was limited, since they both felt the need to save their breath on the uphill trek, but the silences were not uncomfortable. The mountains and the forest were the things Shiro had carried with him for years to remind him of home, and this chance to spend so much time in that environment was something to be reveled in.

“You had to park this thing all the way up here?” Tohoku breathed out.

Shiro laughed. “When you see it you'll understand. Not exactly easy to keep hidden.” He stepped around the flat-topped boulder that marked the edge of the open space, then hung back as the older man kept walking. When Tohoku stopped in his tracks Shiro was tempted to laugh.

“Holy. Shit.” Tohoku turned his head to gape at his cousin, then back at the Lion. “You. . . Just. . . It. . .” He shook his head. “Holy shit.”

And then Shiro did laugh. “Yeah, I know. Everything's a little overwhelming. Oh, and _he_ , if you would. Not _it_.”

“I thought all ships were she.”

“Yeah, well, Sora is no ordinary ship,” Shiro said with a smile as he approached the giant Lion. “Are ya, buddy?”

There wasn't enough room in the clearing for the Black Lion to adopt his favorite resting posture (crouched on his stomach with his head on his forepaws) so he sat comfortably on his rear haunches, tail circled around his back paws. The force field was active, but through it Shiro saw the tiniest twitch of the tail when he spoke. As soon as he touched the barrier it dropped, and he felt that unmistakable presence in his mind as the Lion powered up. Sora rose completely to his feet, then lowered his head and opened his mouth, revealing the ramp to the cockpit.

Shiro turned to his cousin and grinned. “Come on, I'll introduce you.”

There was only one message waiting when they made their way to the cockpit. It was a video message, and after taking a minute to translate the Altean time stamp Shiro determined it had been left in the wee hours of that morning. He hit the button to play it, not quite sure what he expected.

_Shiro, I did it! I found the source of the explosion._

Pidge's voice filled the small cabin and her grinning face lit up the display. Sora purred appreciatively when he recognized the voice.

_I can't tell you anything else about what we've discovered since I'm not sure if this is a secure transmission, but I'll be leaving here to join you on Earth within two days. I've already got a lock on Sora's location, so I'll have no trouble finding you. Wait for me; I'll be there soon._

The message ended and Shiro resisted the urge to play it again for the simple pleasure of hearing Pidge's voice. He wasn't aware of smiling until his cousin coughed behind him.

“Guess I don't need to ask who Katie is anymore,” Tohoku said with a sly grin.


	6. Desires

Two days later Pidge stood in the Green Lion's hangar, ready to take off and head to Earth. She had completed every test she could think of in regard to the quintessence that had caused the cargo vessel's explosion, providing Allura with more than enough information to tilt the negotiation scales in their direction. The Galra were still dragging their feet about the _Kenlos_ Class ships, a fact that all of them found suspicious. Allura had taken to letting slip little bits of information about their investigation as bait, but the Council had yet to jump at any of it.

It was frustrating, to say the least, but Pidge was pushing those feelings away. Right now she had a different mission, and as she ran through the usual pre-flight checklist she felt an undeniable warmth settle in her heart. It was comprised of three thoughts: Earth, home, and Shiro. And she was more than ready to stop denying everything she felt for the Black Paladin.

“Well, looks like we're ready, Ivy,” she commented as she ticked off the last item on the list.

“Not quite,” a voice sounded behind her and suddenly the cockpit was filled with the comforting presence of all of her team mates. Hunk stepped closer and opened a bag that was slung over his shoulder. “I've got a few things that might make this trip easier for you,” he said.

“And for us,” Coran put in. “Considering the current situation with regard to the Druids.”

“Yes, yes, thanks Coran,” Hunk replied with a grin. “First is the quintessence detector you invented years ago. I tweaked it so that it can find even the tiniest amount of the stuff – I'm talking parts per _billion_ , here – so even on Earth you should have no trouble discovering if the Druids have been active.” He set that device down and pulled another one out of his bag. “This one is. . .”

“Another quintessence detector,” Pidge replied with a smirk.

Hunk looked slightly offended. “Well, yeah, but one that I modified so that you'll know if any quintessence sample has been tampered with. If it was used to, for example, make _explosives_.”

Pidge laughed. “Okay, okay, that will definitely be useful. What else?”

“A special transmitter and receiver,” Allura spoke up as Hunk pulled the last item out of the bag. “Hunk calibrated them for ultra low frequency broadcasts, which we have reason to believe will be more secure than the inter-galactic standard. This will make it easier to stay in direct touch while you're on Earth.”

“They should work independently of the Lions, but that isn't one hundred per cent certain” Hunk added. “If it does work you and Shiro can be in more constant contact with us, no matter where you are.”

“We installed a corresponding unit in the control room,” Coran added. “It caused a few glitches in the regular coms, though, so you may be out of touch with us during your journey. Make sure and contact us on the ULF as soon as you arrive.”

“Understood.” She looked around at her fellow Paladins. “Any messages you want me to deliver?”

Lance, as expected, handed her a sheaf of papers to be mailed to his family while she was on Earth. Hunk and Keith both laughed at that, and asked that she simply convey greetings to Shiro.

“Tell him that we miss him,” Hunk added.

“Tell him I'll be ready to kick his ass in training when he gets back,” Keith put in.

“All right, gentlemen, that's enough,” Allura ordered, although laughter was clearly bubbling underneath her words. “Let's all get back to work so Pidge can depart.” She laid a hand on the youngest Paladin's shoulder. “Safe flying, Katie.”

Pidge started slightly at Allura's use of her real name before nodding. She hugged her team mates, kissed Coran on the cheek (stifling giggles as he blushed), and waved as they all descended the ramp. She was just about to press the button to close it up when she heard Hunk cry out.

“ _Quiznack_! I almost forgot!” Then his running footsteps were scrambling up the ramp. He pulled a small circuit board out of his pocket once he was facing her. “I worked this up based on those specs the Galra medics gave us for Shiro's arm. It should help with some of the power fluctuation problems it used to have.” He pressed the board into Pidge's hand and with a grin bounded back out of the Green Lion, stopping to wave one last time before exiting the hangar.

“Okay Ivy, let's go.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

The sunrise the day he expected Pidge to arrive was a spectacular one, but Shiro wondered if it was just the influence of his mood. As usual he watched it with a cup of tea and Tohoku as company, then the pair of cousins drifted to the dojo for a workout.

“I'll go easy on you today,” Tohoku had commented, mischievous smirk in place. “Wouldn't want to damage you too bad before your girlfriend's arrival.”

Shiro didn't bother to respond to that, just fought harder than he had before and finally managed a few victories over the older man. A fact that put a knowing gleam in Tohoku's eyes.

The pair walked the half mile to a nearby onsen for a long, relaxing soak, and on their return to the shrine Shiro found a traditional kimono laid out for him, with a note from his aunt that the rest of his clothes were in desperate need of laundering. He glanced at his cousin. “She did laundry two days ago.”

Tohoku laughed. “Just wear it, Taka,” he said. “She obviously wants to make a good impression when your friend gets here, and even I have to admit you look better in traditional attire.”

So with a grumble Shiro donned the kimono, long forgotten skills rising back to the fore so that he properly tied the hakama and the obi. When he was done he confronted his image in the mirror, and had to smile. It had been a long time since he had been dressed like this; a long time since he had felt so connected to his heritage.

And he couldn't help but wonder how Pidge would react to it.

With nothing else to occupy his time he spent most of the afternoon helping Tohoku with an assortment of chores around the complex, doing his best to keep his mind from dwelling on the passing time. He was sweeping the open space in front of the main temple, moving at a leisurely pace, when a voice spoke from behind him.

“Excuse me, I'm looking for -” The words broke off with a gasp, because at the sound of English, and in a familiar voice, Shiro had dropped the broom and turned around. “Shiro!” Pidge exclaimed, bounding across the few feet that separated them to throw her arms around him in a spontaneous hug.

He laughed and hugged her back before taking a step back and formally bowing to her in greeting. “Konichiwa,” he said with a hint of a laugh.

She responded with a smile as she looked him up and down. “What are you wearing?” she asked before giving her head a shake. “No, you know what? Don't answer that; whatever it is looks good. Really, really good.”

“Be careful saying that around my aunt or you'll find yourself in a kimono or yukata faster than you can blink,” he replied. Then his imagination latched on to the mental image of Pidge dressed like that and a small part of his brain short-circuited. A kimono in a brilliant emerald green, the perfect complement to her hair, the soft rustle of silk as she walked, feeling her warmth through the layers of fabric as he stroked her arm from shoulder to hand. . .

“Takashi, what are you do – OH!” His aunt's voice yanked him out of the fantasy. Her eyes were sparkling when they met his. “Is this our expected guest?”

Shiro nodded, gesturing to his team mate. “Katie Holt, also known as Pidge. Katie, this is my aunt, Shirogane Keiko.

Pidge nodded in acknowledgment and bowed in imitation of Shiro. “A pleasure, Keiko-san,” she replied in acceptable, if heavily accented Japanese, making Shiro lift a hand to cover up his proud smile.

Keiko stepped forward and took Pidge's arm suddenly, causing the other woman to drop her helmet. “There's no need for such formality, my dear,” she reprimanded him gently. “You just call me Keiko-baachan. You must be exhausted after your trip,” she went on, laying a hand against the small of Pidge's back and steering her towards the family's home. “I already have a bath warmed up for you and some clothes for you to change into -”

Pidge shook her head. “Oh, I brought extra clothes -” She broke off when she caught Shiro's head shake.

“Don't try,” he whispered with a grin. “She's a force of nature, and it's best to just ride out the storm.”

“It'll increase your chances of survival if you do,” another voice put in with a chuckle, and Pidge turned to greet the newcomer. Judging by the definite family resemblance she was looking at Shiro's cousin, a assumption confirmed with the introduction.

“Tohoku is the priest and caretaker of the shrine,” Shiro went on, doing his best not to laugh at the look that crossed Pidge's face.

Pidge knew that the shock and surprise was visible on her face. It wasn't like she had any sort of preconceived notion of what a Shinto priest (or any priest) should look like, but if she had ever thought about it it wouldn't be like the man in front of her. He had the same strong jawline as Shiro, and the same shape to his eyes. He stood about her height and was broad in the same way that Hunk was: eighty per cent muscle.

“You don't look like any priest I've ever seen,” Pidge commented, smiling in her best friendly way. “More like -”

Shiro burst out laughing, drowning out whatever she had been about to say and earning himself a dark look from his cousin.

“Are you three going to stand there all afternoon or can we have lunch?” Keiko asked, looking disgruntled. Pidge flushed and looked apologetic, moving away from Shiro and Tohoku to join the other woman. They disappeared around the side of the main temple building, no doubt headed to the bathhouse. Silence descended on the courtyard before Shiro bent down to pick up the broom he had dropped.

“So. . .” Tohoku began, tilting his head back to gaze at the sky. “Katie, huh?”

Shiro used both hands to shove at his cousin's chest, taking the older man by surprise and managing to knock him over.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Allura exhaled a loud sigh as the group of Galra exited the meeting room where they had been negotiating a new truce. She knew that her frustration with the situation was becoming increasingly obvious, but putting a stop to those feelings was currently beyond her capabilities. Getting some sort of definitive answer with regard to the wrecked ship currently in one of the Castle's hangars would help, no doubt, but that was the main thing the Galra representatives were being stubborn about.

So far the only positive thing was that their demands for access to the records of the Druid trial and execution had born fruit. Not in the form of receiving any of those records, of course, but that hadn't been the point. The Imperial Council had balked at the suggestion and immediately backed down on any further discussion of an exchange of hostages. It also meant that their suspicions about Druid involvement in the explosion, and whatever else the witches might be up to, remained unspoken.

“Are you ever going to tell them?” Keith asked as he dropped into the chair across the table from the princess.

“Eventually,” Allura replied, smile a little colder than usual. “But I'd like to put it off for as long as possible, since we have no way of knowing whether or not any member of the Council is mixed up in some plot with the Druids.”

Keith couldn't keep the surprise from his expression. “Do you really think that's likely? I mean, they did have a pretty severe reaction to that attempted coup five years ago.”

“I don't think it's _un_ likely, let me put it that way. And everything from five years ago just reminds me of that Earth author that Lance quotes sometimes: I think they might have protested too much.”

“So what do we do tomorrow when a new round of negotiations starts?” Coran asked, speaking for the first time.

Allura didn't respond right away, but her two companions could tell she was thinking over all of the possible ramifications of a variety of actions, trying to decide on which one posed the least amount of risk. Finally she grinned. “I'm going to give them what's left of the quintessence Pidge found on that cargo ship and see what conclusions they come to. If they arrive at the same point we're at it'll at least be a clue that they aren't mixed up in some sort of Druid plot.”

Coran and Keith exchanged a look. “That seems like a risky move, Princess,” the Altean male said. “I mean, if they are involved in something we'll have. . . What is that Earth expression?”

“Shown our hand,” Keith supplied. “And I agree. Is it worth that big a risk?”

“Great risks can bring commensurate rewards, gentlemen. They can also bring matters to a head that much faster,” she added with a decisive nod. “And I want to bring those two Lions and their Paladins home as soon as we can.” She rose to her feet. “Prepare everything for tomorrow's meeting, Coran. I'll be in the control room, waiting on contact from Earth.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence after she left the room, finally broken by Keith. “You think this is a really bad idea, don't you?”

Coran's face was a blank. “It's not necessarily a good idea,” he began, only to be interrupted by a snort from the Red Paladin. “Okay, fine. Yes, I think it's a bad idea, but I can see where Allura is coming from with this. It might be just the push the Imperial Council needs to admit a few things to themselves.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that executing the wrong Druids for Zarkon's assassination means the threat is still out there.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“So you've pretty much lived here all your life,” Pidge commented as they stopped walking in front of a frame made of wire with countless o-mikuji tied to it and fluttering in the breeze.

“More or less, at least until the Garrison came calling,” Shiro answered. “Even when my parents were alive I was here more often than not.”

Pidge glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, fully aware of the almost wistful quality of his voice at that moment. “They weren't here with you?”

“Not often. Mom was a successful model and in demand all over the world. Dad traveled with her most of the time while I was here with my grandparents, my uncle and his wife, and of course Tohoku.”

“Sounds kind of lonely,” Pidge said softly, reaching out and touching a few of the fortunes in front of her “I mean I know you still had family, but you didn't have your parents. I can't imagine what that would have been like.”

Shiro felt a tiny smile tug at one corner of his mouth. “It wasn't as bad as all that, trust me. And, in a way, it made their deaths easier to bear.” He shrugged. “It was kind of hard to miss two people that I barely even knew.”

Pidge looked up at him, mouth pinched and brow furrowed. “That is really sad,” she commented, shaking her head. “How old were you when they died?”

“Eight.” He chuckled a little at the shock on her face. “Like I said, it's difficult to miss people you hardly knew.” Then he took Pidge's hand in his and tugged her away from the frame, heading toward the window where the fortunes were dispensed. “But enough about me; let's get you an o-mikuji and see what your future holds!”

Pidge didn't argue, although she personally felt like the topic of Shiro was far from exhausted. In fact the things she had just learned made him all the more intriguing, at least in her eyes. “What am I supposed to do?” she asked as they stood at the window, watching as Shiro pulled a coin out of a pocket and handed it to her.

“You make your offering,” he replied before picking up the box that sat on the ledge. He nodded approvingly when Pidge closed her eyes for a moment before dropping the coin in the offering slot and held the box toward her. “Now take one of the slips of paper.” He laughed when she started to open her eyes. “No peeking!”

Pidge giggled and clamped her eyes tightly shut before rummaging a hand in the box for a moment. Then she grasped one of the fortunes and pulled it out, holding it triumphantly aloft. “Too bad I can't read it,” she said with a grin.

Shiro took the strip of paper from her and unrolled it, thankful that the many gaps in his memory over the years had never effected his ability to read kanji. “You're in luck, Katie!” he happily informed her “It's a dai-kichi: a 'great blessing'. That means it's more likely to come true!”

Pidge leaned closer and looked at the strip of paper. “A great blessing for what?” she asked, holding his hand and turning it so she could see better. And that was when she noticed the flush that was climbing Shiro's cheeks.

He looked down into her amber eyes, mentally cursing the heat he could feel in his face. “It's, uh. . . negaigoto, meaning a wish or a desire.”

Pidge grinned. “Well, that's good! I have a lot of wishes I'd like to see come true. What about the rest?”

He never would have though it possible but Shiro could actually feel his cheeks catching fire. The last phrase on the slip of paper is ren-ai. “Romance,” he whispered, avoiding the gaze of the woman beside him.

Now it was Pidge's face that flamed, and she seemed to become aware of how close they were standing, torsos almost completely pressed together and Shiro's left arm nestled beneath her breasts. With what might have been a strangled laugh she started to pull away from him, releasing his hand that held her fortune. The sudden absence of Shiro's warmth was almost instantly regretted. “So, umm, what do I do with it know?” she asked, tugging the slip of paper from his fingers.

It took a minute for Shiro to respond; his mind was still attached to what the o-mikuji said and to the light citrus fragrance that had been wafting from Pidge's hair. “You can. . . well, you can keep it for good luck or tie it to the frame. If you tie it it'll increase the chance of it coming true.”

And with a shy grin Pidge stepped forward, found an empty spot and quickly tied the slip of paper to the wire. “I'm not so sure about the romance part,” she said with a laugh. “But I won't say no to a little help with some other things.” When she turned back around she took hold of Shiro's prosthetic hand. “I know it's pretty late in the day now, but tomorrow I'd like to get started on this. I've got some equipment and a small lab set up in Ivy and can run some basic diagnostic tests. Get a baseline before we start doing any tinkering with it.”

Shiro nodded. “Sounds good,” he said in a rough voice. He cleared his throat before continuing. “And you can tell me what you discovered about the explosion while we're at it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for anything I might have gotten completely wrong re: Shinto rituals and fortunes. Wikipedia is not necessarily one's friend. :D


	7. Measured

The next morning they accomplished the trek up the mountain in record time, and despite getting rather breathless because of the steep incline Pidge rambled the entire time, telling the story of the explosion investigation and everyone's reactions to it. Shiro had a hard time keeping up with the pace of the story, but the salient facts didn't pass him by.

“Quintessence used as an explosive?” He managed to squeeze the question in when Pidge paused for breath.

“Not exactly,” she replied with a shrug. “More like it was as an accelerant to make the explosion more powerful. And it also triggered the trigger, if that makes any sense.”

“Surprisingly enough it does,” Shiro replied with a grin. “So what does Allura plan on doing with this knowledge?”

“Not sure; she really didn't say anything before I left.” Pidge bit her lower lip. “I think she's worried that revealing the truth will lead to more executions based on the same flimsy evidence as five years ago. But on the other hand she may also be thinking of it as a way to force the Imperial Council into making a few concessions in this round of negotiations.”

Shiro nodded, face twisted in an expression of mild disgust. “Politics is a messy, messy business,” he commented.

“Yeah, that's what I said,” Pidge replied with a chuckle. “I'll stick with nice, clean, clear cut science and technology, thank you very much.” Then her jaw dropped and she looked stricken for a moment. “Shit! I forgot to contact the Castle when I arrived! Allura is going to kill me!” She sprinted ahead, reaching the spur of rock that concealed the clearing the Lions were in before coming to an abrupt halt. “Whoa.”

“What's with the surprise?” Shiro asked as he came up behind Pidge. “You saw this place yesterday when you arrived, and whoa!”

Shiro had expected that the clearing would seem smaller than the last time he was there because of the presence of the Green Lion. What he didn't expect, though, was that the two Lions would be so close together that their protective force fields melded and meshed together. Ivy, like Sora, was sitting up, leaning against the Black Lion's side, her head tucked underneath his jaw. Pidge walked right up to the pair and laid a hand against the green force field. It immediately dropped and, after a moment's delay, so did the lilac-tinted field around Sora. Two sets of mechanical eyes started to glow.

Pidge looked from one Lion to the other. “Is there something the two of you want to share?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Both Lions growled softly, but Ivy sounded almost content while Sora managed a bit of a scoff. Pidge laughed and Shiro couldn't fight against a smile; it seemed his Lion was as enamored with Ivy as he was with Pidge. Not all that surprising, considering the bond they shared.

He was pulled out of that line of thought by Pidge clapping her hands. “Okay, first things first! We need to get that ULF message sent before the Princess decides to send one of the guys to check on us. And then I want to get a read on Sora's power levels so I can gauge how well Balmeran crystals work on Earth.”

Ivy apparently understood all of because she moved away from Sora and dropped her head, mouth opening to reveal the ramp to the cockpit. Pidge raced up it, one hand trailing along a wall in an affectionate caress. Shiro followed, trying not to think about how that hand might feel on his skin.

Sending the message didn't take long; the characteristics of the ultra-low frequency transmission making two way conversations difficult, if not impossible. “And thank God for that,” Pidge muttered when she was done speaking. “Otherwise we'd be stuck on the line with Lance for who knows how long.” She grabbed a small device off of Ivy's control console before they left the Lion, explaining “It's another of the ULF transmitters and receivers, all ready to be installed on your Lion.”.

“Why ULF?” Shiro asked.

Pidge shrugged slightly. “Well, we think it's safer than the standard inter-galactic communication frequencies, especially considering the distance between Earth and Arus, where Allura has decided to station the Castle for the time being.”

“And by safer you mean -”

“Less likely to be hacked or intercepted, yes.” Pidge grinned. “Although considering I picked up chatter about Zarkon's assassination all those years ago on a low frequency it may be a fool's hope.” She shrugged. “Still, it's better than nothing.”

By that time they were standing outside Ivy, looking around at the very limited space in the clearing, then up at Sora's head, high above them. It was clear that the Black Lion wouldn't be able to lower his head enough. Pidge nudged Shiro with an elbow to the ribs. “I need to get in the cockpit, but how. . .?”

Shiro smiled. “Do you trust him? And me?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then hang on.” And he picked her up and set her on one of the Black Lion's forepaws before climbing up after her. “Takai, Sora!”

“What does that MEEEAAAN?! Shiro!” She threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest as Sora lifted the paw they were standing on towards his head. They rose in the air for what felt like an hour before the motion stopped and Pidge felt Shiro chuckle.

“You can look, you know.”

Pidge's reply was muffled by the fabric of his shirt but it sounded vaguely like _HELL NO!_. That only made Shiro laugh more. “Seriously, Pidge? You fly through space in a super high tech, maybe slightly magical, Lion, plus fight evil purple aliens without batting an eye and turns out you're afraid of heights? And why have I not known about this?”

“I hate you.”

Shiro glanced down and saw that Pidge had pulled away from him far enough so that her voiced was more audible, but that was about it. He wrapped his right arm around her waist and tilted her chin up with his left hand. “Just look at me, okay? We have to move a little bit more, but I promise it'll be fine.”

“As long as we don't move up anymore I'll make it,” Pidge replied. Her grip on Shiro tightened, though, when Sora moved the paw close enough to his mouth that they could simply step off and into his cockpit. Once inside Pidge released her death grip on Shiro and sagged against the wall with a sigh of relief, causing him to laugh.

“You, uh, may not want to be too relieved,” he said. “We still have to get back down, after all.”

“I'll deal with that when I have to,” Pidge replied with a ghost of her usual smile. “Until then I have work to do.” She moved to the front of the cockpit and lay down on her back, shimmying underneath the main control console.

Dropping her bag of tools Shiro sat in his pilot's chair, smiling as he listened to the occasional grunt of frustration and half-muttered complaint. When she asked him for a particular tool he handed it over without comment, allowing her to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

“Power levels look good,” she said, voice echoing slightly. “Can you pass me the quintessence - Crap, you don't know what it is.” She slid out from under the console and rummaged in the bag, finally pulling out a flat box with three dials and a meter on its front. When it was turned on the needle jumped once before settling back to zero.

“What is that thing?” he asked, watching as Pidge scanned the area immediately around the pair of them.

“It's a detector that Hunk put together,” she replied, watching the needle for even the slightest movement. “It's designed to pick up on any quantity of quintessence that's been externally processed and then applied to a surface. Or a person, I suppose.”

“Like what was used in the explosion,” Shiro commented, nodding in understanding.

“Exactly. Although I'm just scanning now to get a feel for how it works and establish a standard baseline; I don't expect to find anything.” The machine in her hand suddenly beeped and grabbed her attention. “Hmmm.”

“What? What hmm?”

Pidge shook her head. “Just a tiny, almost insignificant reaction. Consistent with what Hunk found whenever he had it near a Balmera crystal. Let me just double check.” She rose to her feet and moved away from where the crystal was housed, then back. She performed that test three times before she was satisfied. “Yup, just the crystal.”

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked, looking a little worried. “It's not -” He lifted his right arm to draw Pidge's attention to it.

“Your arm?” she asked, surprised. “I kind of doubt it. I mean, quintessence was probably involved in the making of it, and the process of attaching it to your biological arm, but I wouldn't expect to find any external sign of it.” She smiled slightly. “When we crack the casing open it might be another story, but as it stands, no. But if it'll make you feel better. . .” She gave his cybernetic arm a quick scan; the needle didn't budge. “See?”

Shiro managed to keep his sigh of relief from being audible but he had a feeling Pidge knew anyway, so he changed the subject. “So what's next on the day's agenda?”

“We get the ULF transmitter installed in Sora, and then back to Ivy and the lab I've got set up,” she replied, going out of her way to sound collected and businesslike. “I have a few theories I'd like to test out with regard to that arm, and a special coupling that Hunk thinks will eliminate some of the power surge problems you've had in the past.”

“The painful ones?”

Pidge grinned. “That is the idea.”

“Okay, I can definitely get behind that,” Shiro said with a nod.

“I also want to see if I can fiddle with circuitry to make it. . . adjustable, for lack of a better word.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, right now the thing basically has two settings, right?” Pidge explained. “Not activated and deadly. I'd like to see if we can add a few more levels to that, maybe something along the lines of 'Helpful' and 'Dangerous But Not Fatal'.” She shrugged then. “Not sure how successful that endeavor would be, but I figure it's at least worth looking into. Now let's get back to the task at hand.” She lay back down on her back and slid under the main console. “Pass me that adjustable wrench and the needle-nose pliers, would you?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Keith ran down the corridor at top speed, still clad in his armor from the most recent patrol. He hated being out of the castle when Galra councilors were there for meetings and negotiations. Not that he thought Allura was incapable of taking care of herself, far from it. She had proven on more than a few occasions that she could kick any of their asses if she felt the need to do so. But there was a part of him that couldn't ignore a protective instinct that came from leading the team. It was something that Shiro had always talked about before, but it was different when he started to experience it for himself.

When the door to the dining room (which also served as a conference room) opened he breathed a nearly inaudible sigh of relief. Allura sat at the head of the table, documents, folders, and files spread out around her. A furrow appeared between her eyebrows as she studied the papers in her hand, and he had to cough to get her attention.

“Oh, Keith!” she exclaimed, rising to her feet and gesturing to the mess on the table in front of her. “I am so glad you're here.”

He approached the table and set his helmet down, making sure to keep it away from all of the jumbled papers. He picked up the nearest folder, noting the Galra text on the cover of it. “What is all this?”

Her smile widened. “You might not believe it; I'm not sure I do,” she answered as she resumed her seat. “It's all the records from the Druid trial.”

Keith felt his jaw drop. “They actually agreed to that? And followed through?”

“Yes, they did.” She started to frown again. “Unfortunately we only have them until the next round of negotiations, in two days time. As you can see there is quite a lot to go through, and since you are the next best after myself at understanding Galran. . .”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tightly. “Give me half an hour to clean up and change clothes and then we'll tackle this mess, fair enough?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Nearly four hours later Keith was definitely regretting his decision to help. His eyes were burning from all the effort at deciphering the Galra script and the dust kept making him sneeze. He hadn't actually laid eyes on Allura in close to fifty minutes and was somewhat worried that she might have been buried alive under an avalanche of paper. The continued sound of her grumbling in frustration, however, did reassure him on that point.

Hunk had been in and out of the room most of the afternoon, depositing food on the table and glaring at the pair of them until they at least nibbled a little. Lance stayed as far away as possible, not wanting to get caught in the middle of anything when both Keith and Allura were in bad moods. Coran had been in to quickly get something to eat before going back to the control room to keep watch.

And still the hours dragged.

At the five and a half hour mark Keith finally lost what little composure he had left. He slapped a folder on the table with a sound like a gunshot and exclaimed “This is completely useless! There isn't a damned thing in any of these files that we didn't already know!”. He flopped back in the chair so hard that it groaned underneath his weight.

Allura made a sound of agreement as her head appeared from behind a veritable mountain of papers. “You're right, of course, but I think it was worth it to have some of our speculations confirmed.”

“Like shoddy investigating and suspicious evidence?”

She nodded. “Those, yes. But there is something missing from all of this information, and I'm starting to wonder why that is.”

“You mean no mention whatsoever as to how, exactly, Zarkon died?”

Allura's eyes widened for a moment before she started to chuckle. “I need to stop being surprised every time you prove how sharp and observant you are,” she said with a smile and a shake of her head. “But yes, that is precisely what I'm talking about.” She got to her feet and started to pace.

“You're thinking that the assassination and the rebellion against the Council are not, as we all assumed, connected. You're starting to wonder if the rebellion was faked as a way of setting the Druids up to take the fall for Zarkon's death.”

“Honestly, Keith, I though it was the mice that could read my mind!”

He flushed slightly. “It wasn't hard to guess,” he went on to explain. “It's exactly what I've started wondering. And, unless I'm completely misreading him, so is Coran.”

“Did I hear my name?”

They both jumped as Coran's voice sounded through the coms, a sign of just how distracted they had become by their work. Allura pressed a hand to her heart and took a deep breath before replying. “Perhaps you did,” she said, tilting a smile Keith's way. “But not in reference to something we can discuss over the com system.”

“That's all right then, because I need you two up in the control room,” he replied, a touch of urgency and excitement in his voice. “Quick as you can.”

Keith and Allura glanced at each other then pushed their chairs away from the table and hustled out the door. Neither spoke on the quick walk to the control room, unwilling to engage in useless speculation. Whatever was going on would be revealed, and soon if Coran's tone of voice had been anything to go by.

Lance and Hunk were already present when they arrived, which wasn't much of a surprise. What was, though, was the face of Councilor Skolark on the communication screen. He looked harried and stressed, eyes tired and mouth pinched in a tight line. His usual diplomat's smile was nowhere in evidence.

But an even bigger surprise hit when Allura glanced at the bottom of the screen and saw that they were connected through a private communication channel instead of an official one. Her eyes widened as she raised her gaze back to Skolark's face.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Princess,” he said, and even his voice sounded like a man on his last legs. “My apologies for making contact in this. . . unorthodox way, but there are things that I believe we need to discuss without the pressure of a regular negotiation session.” He inhaled so deeply that it was visible on-screen. “In fact there are things that I'd prefer to discuss in person, if that would be acceptable to you.”

A muscle jumped in Allura's jaw; she seemed to be clenching it tight to prevent it falling open in shock. Finally, after a silence that went on just a moment too long she shook herself and nodded. “Of course, Councilor. We'll expect your arrival here at the Castle tomorrow.”

Skolark acknowledged her words with a slight bow and then the connection was ended. Keith, Hunk, Lance, and Coran all stared at Allura. Unsurprisingly it was Lance who gave voice to what they were all thinking.

“What the _quiznack_ was that all about?”


	8. Concerns

The next morning Allura and Keith waited in the open field in front of the Castle as a Galra shuttle circled once above them, preparing to land. They hadn't been able to talk much the previous evening, and Keith could feel the dozens of questions trying to push themselves up his throat and out of his mouth. They all demanded answers, but he settled for the most obvious.

“Are you sure you have no idea why Skolark is coming?”

Allura rolled her eyes and looked up at the blue sky as if praying for strength. “You were there, Keith,” she said, sounding a little too patient. “You heard the entire conversation.”

“I know, but -”

She reached out and took one of his hands, forcing him to meet her eyes. “I'd tell you if I knew anything. I promise.” A tiny smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “You're my military commander at the moment; it'd be foolish to keep something from you.”

Any response he might have made was drowned out by the roar of reverse thrusters as the shuttle landed barely twenty yards away from where they stood, so he simply squeezed the princess's hand in acknowledgment. As one they walked forward to the shuttle, pausing to wait for its ramp to be lowered. Their hands slipped apart; Keith standing ramrod straight with his clasped behind his back and Allura tucking hers against her stomach, half hidden by her voluminous sleeves.

The hiss of compressed air and the whine of hydraulics preceded the the drop of the ramp, and the pair of them composed their faces into diplomatic passivity. That lasted all of five seconds, though, as soon as they each caught a glimpse of Imperial Council President Skolark making his way towards them. Allura gasped and rushed forward, offering the Galra politician an arm to lean on, which Skolark accepted gratefully. Keith hung back, too stunned to move.

In all the years that they had been dealing with Skolark neither had ever seen him like now. He was thin and frail, and his purple skin had a strange yellowish-cast to it. He walked with shuffling steps, back hunched and knees all but quaking as they supported his (meager) weight. No wonder Allura had moved forward to lend a hand. The Galra looked like a stiff breeze would blow him away. Keith reached into a pocket on his uniform and activated the communicator. “Hunk.”

“You rang?” the sound of the Yellow Paladin's reply was reassuringly quick and Keith stifled his sigh of relief.

“Get out here to the landing site,” Keith ordered. “And bring a medical support kit.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“I'm still not exactly sure why you'd need this stuff here on Earth,” Shiro commented, picking up the second quintessence detector that Pidge had pulled out of her bag of tricks the day before.

“Do I really need to explain it all again?”

He laughed. “No, no, not at all. Please.” Pidge glared, which only made him laugh harder. “I get the technicalities of it all. I'm just not sure what you think you're going to find on a planet that has never been touched by the Galra Empire.”

Pidge looked at the device in Shiro's hand and shrugged. “Better safe than sorry, right? Especially with things being in the sort of turmoil they are.”

They were sitting on the porch of the guest house where Shiro slept, having watched the sunrise together. Pidge had been surprised and fascinated, commenting on how different it all looked from the desert sunrises she remembered from her own home on Earth. Shiro had been absorbed in watching the play of sunlight n her face. Tohoku had been with them for a while, but had excused himself with a lame explanation, all but leering when Shiro glared at him.

“I like your family.”

Pidge's softly spoken words shook him out of his reminiscences and he turned his attention back to her with a gentle smile. “I'm pretty sure they like you, too. But I'd recommend not letting Tohoku talk you into sparring with him. He's a demon in the dojo.”

“Yeah, your aunt warned me about that too, although she also said that in her opinion I could probably take him,” she replied with a chuckle. “Something about how I look extra speedy.”

“Maybe I should turn you loose on him,” Shiro put in, grinning as he spoke. “It'd make me feel a little better if I could see him lose, even if it's just one time.”

“Well, as much fun as I imagine that would be I think we need to leave here,” Pidge said, looking at where her hands were folded in her lap. “I need a proper lab and better tools if I'm going to be able to do anything with your arm.”

The day before had been a frustrating one. It hadn't taken long for it to be clear that the few tools Pidge had in her makeshift lab inside Ivy weren't up to the task of of dealing with his cybernetic arm. But what, exactly, they could do about it was a pretty open-ended question, one that Pidge answered as soon as she saw the look on his face. “We'll have to go to the Garrison,” she said with an emphatic nod. “My dad has an awesome research set-up there, and I'll also be able to get his help.” She met Shiro's eyes. “We don't have to leave right away, of course. I mean. . . if you still want to spend some time here. This is supposed to be a vacation, after all.”

Shiro turned away from her and looked off at the lake and the mountains, the golden sunlight spilling across the valley. It had been a vacation, and he had needed the rest, but now. . . “It's all right,” he whispered, glancing at Pidge from the corner of his eye. “We can leave as soon as we're ready.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I need to get back to my real life.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Hunk looked sidelong at the chief Galra medic as he made a final few adjustments to the medical pod. There were dozens of questions that he wanted to ask but everything in his head sounded much too intrusive, so he kept his mouth shut and his attention on his work. He still wasn't as skilled as Coran or Allura when it came to programming the pods, but the two of them were closeted with Keith, discussing the only thing on anybody's mind.

He caught the loud, almost nervous, exhale beside him as the pod closed and turned toward Borkas. “I've programmed for a standard diagnostic scan first,” he explained, hoping to ease the other's mind. “Depending on the results of that we'll try something more in-depth afterwards.” He pushed a couple more buttons, forehead creased. “I'm not exactly sure how well this is going to work, since the pods aren't calibrated to Galra physiology, so. . .”

Borkas shook his head and did his best to smile. “Whatever you can do I'm sure is better than what's been done back on our home world.”

Hunk simply hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. When the final instructions were programmed and the pod gave it's unique confirmation sound he relaxed and moved to sit on the bench that occupied one corner of the room. It didn't take very long before the Galra joined him, shoulders tense and eyes never leaving the pod that contained his president.

“Ya know,” Hunk began, speaking casually and not looking at his companion. “You don't have to tell me anything, and feel free to mention that it's none of my business, but it might not hurt to have another mind at work on whatever the problem is.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Just something to think about.”

“What's your name?” Borkas asked, twisting in his seat to look at Hunk.

“Hunk. Why?”

A smile spread across the medic's face. “Your commander and I talked a lot during the beginning of his time as a hostage, before the cryo-freezing. I think talking about all of you, his fellow Paladins, made him less homesick.”

“That sounds like Shiro,” Hunk commented. “He probably talked more about us than about himself.”

“He did,” Borkas replied, still smiling. “He told me that the Yellow Paladin – you, I now know – was the most emotionally open and perceptive of all of you. The most empathetic. I didn't quite understand what he meant at the time – being emotional is generally not a quality fostered in our people – but now I think I get it.” He stood up and started to pace. “You can see past the outer shell and into someone's troubled heart.”

“I. . . uh, never heard it put quite like that, but yeah, I guess so.” He grinned. “Although I gotta say in your case it was pretty obvious. But I stand by what I said; you don't have to tell me anything.”

Borkas shifted in his seat, head down and hands clasped between his knees. “It started as soon as he agreed to release the records of the trial,” he began quietly, voice uncertain. “I was called to his quarters in the early hours of the morning; he had been vomiting and was having trouble breathing. One of his secretaries told me that a couple of Druids had been there earlier in the evening, begging him not to make the trial records public, saying that it would bring further shame on what was left of their organization.” He rubbed a hand across his forehead when his recitation paused. “At the time I didn't know what to think, but he just kept getting worse no matter what I, or any other medical officer, did. He made the choice to come here; he said that Altean medicine would be far better for him. I think he. . . I think he meant that at least here no one could continue to poison him.”

That got Hunk's attention in a hurry. He straightened up from his lazy posture against the back of the bench and turned his head to the healing pod so fast he nearly cricked his neck. “Poison?” he asked, annoyed at the way his voice rose and cracked.

The Galra medic nodded. “It's what both of us suspect, at least, but none of my tests could confirm it. I'm hoping you guys might have better luck.”

“This has something to do with how Zarkon died, doesn't it?” Hunk replied, glancing at Borkas from the corner of his eye, remembering something that Keith had told him and Lance about the trial. “There's no mention of a cause of death anywhere in the trial transcript.”

Borkas rose to his feet and started pacing. “It was poison, but nothing could be proved. Whatever it was either metabolized quickly or left no traces. But considering how quickly he died poison is the only thing that makes any sense.” He stopped his back-and-forth and leaned against the wall. “They certainly learned their lesson this time, though; something slower acting and not as obvious.” His eyes slipped closed as his head dropped back to the wall. “I'm hoping your medical technology can confirm the suspicion, but even if it doesn't being here for a couple of days – being away from all the people he's suspicious of – will only be to the good.”

Unable to think of a reply Hunk settled for a simple nod. Almost anything he could have said at the moment seemed either too insensitive of too intrusive, and he didn't want to make Borkas feel uncomfortable. Even five years after Zarkon's assassination and the start of the truce the trust between the Galra and the members of Team Voltron was still rather fragile, and Allura's imprecations to not do anything to jeopardize ongoing negotiations was a constant presence in the back of his mind.

A chuckle came from Borkas, getting Hunk's attention. “You're remarkably easy to read, did you know that?” the Galra asked, a tiny smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. “You obviously want to ask me about a million questions but are so determined to not offend me or make things difficult with regard to the current negotiations.”

Hunk had to laugh in response. “Pretty much, yeah. I know it's been five years but a lot of the stuff – the relationship between our two sides – is still pretty new to me. I haven't been directly involved in any of the diplomatic wrangling, so I'm not sure how to approach this situation without ruining something.”

“I understand; it's all new to me as well.” Borkas sighed and moved to sit beside Hunk once again. “It was different with Shiro and the others when they were on the Galra home world; we really didn't have much of a choice but to cultivate friendships. Now. . . It feels like we came here begging for your help, asking for favors, and that just doesn't sit right.”

“Asking for a favor that is gladly given is never a problem,” Hunk replied, reaching out to squeeze Borkas' shoulder. “I can understand your pride, but you need to know that this help will always be yours.”

The door swishing open stopped whatever reply Borkas might have made and he rose to his feet as Allura came in, Keith following behind her. She checked the readings on the pod briefly before moving to where the others were, gesturing for them to resume their seats. “I would have liked to have this discussion in a more formal setting,” she began without preamble. “But I was convinced that it was unlikely you'd be willing to leave Skolark's side, so here will have to do.” She walked across the room and brought another chair closer, sinking gracefully in to it as Keith took up a protective stance behind her. “Now I'm going to ask you one very specific question, Borkas, and I need you to answer me as honestly as possible.” She took a deep breath. “How, exactly, did Zarkon die?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Tohoku asked, a strong grip on his cousin's shoulder.

Shiro nodded. “I have to,” he said, meeting the dark eyes that were very like his own. “I have a responsibility out there in the universe, and I can't ignore it any longer.” A smile made one corner of his mouth lift. “Not that I haven't loved being home, and Keiko-baachan's cooking, but I have to pull my head out of the sand at some point.”

“She's going to be pissed that you left so early without saying good-bye.”

“It's. . . easier this way,” Shiro said, voice shaking ever so slightly. “I'd rather not have a repeat of the day I left for the Garrison.”

Tohoku nodded. “Where's Katie?”

“Already up the mountain. She wanted to run a final few tests on the Black Lion; still trying to get a baseline for power levels here on Earth so we have a starting place when we get to the Garrison.” He sucked in a deep breath before shouldering his bag, dropping his eyes to the ground. He looked up as soon as he felt his cousin's strong hands gripping his arms.

“Go and come back again, Taka,” Tohoku said. “No matter how long or how far you go you'll always have a home here.”

The two embraced, Shiro blinking against a sudden rush of tears. “Take care of yourself, Tohoku,” he whispered, then pulled out of the hug and walked off without looking back.

The hike up to the clearing seemed to take less time that day, although he was willing to admit that he may have rushed a bit in an effort to escape some emotions. It was only when he got close enough to feel the happiness radiating from Sora, and returned Pidge's wave of greeting, that he realized some feelings were impossible to outrun.

Pidge disappeared behind one of Ivy's front paws and then popped back up, smiling brightly. “Ready to go?” she asked, sounding excited.

Shiro just nodded, not really sure he could speak at that moment. He turned around for one last look down the mountain towards the temple and what was left of his family, jumping when he felt one of Pidge's warm hands slide into his. “If it helps I'm going to miss them too,” she softly spoke. “I didn't expect them to welcome me so openly, but I wouldn't trade these last few days for anything. Even if I never got that chance to spar with Tohoku!”

With a chuckle Shiro squeezed the hand in his. “I'm glad you liked my family, Katie,” he finally managed to say. “And doubly glad that they liked you.”

“Well, who wouldn't like me? I'm kind, considerate, smart, sassy, and too adorable for words.” Pidge gave her head a toss, laughing as the soft waves of her hair settled back into place. “But seriously, we need - Shiro? What's wrong?”

He shook his head and pasted on a smile, one that he hoped didn't look too sickly. _Too adorable for words_. The fact that Pidge's offhand, half-joking description of herself marched so closely with what he had been thinking at that moment left him a little shaken on the inside, but now was not the time to have that discussion. “It's nothing, really. Just. . . A little more preemptive homesickness than I'm used to having, I guess.” He hated keeping his thoughts from her, even in such a mild way, but promised himself they would have a talk about what, if anything, they felt for each other. Soon.

“We don't have to leave today, you know,” Pidge gently said. “There's nothing urgent about any of this; we can stay another day.”

“No. No, we shouldn't.” Shiro lifted his head up, staring at the underside of the Black Lion's jaw, far above them. “It's more than past time I returned to my real life. My real responsibilities.” He clapped a hand on Pidge's shoulder. “Besides, we still have a few mysteries to solve, don't we?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“It's definitely poison, then?” Skolark asked, his voice weak as he eased himself into the bed.

Allura nodded, stepping forward to lift the councilor's legs up and under the blankets. “We don't know what sort of poison, exactly, but that could be because our healing pods have an imperfect understanding of Galra physiology.” She heard Keith's angry huff of breath behind her and shot him a glare.

He was undeterred, though. “And it could be a previously unknown poison,” he said. “We have no way of knowing, especially if the Druid's magic is playing a role in all of this.”

Skolark's eyes widened. “Do you think that's. . . I mean, I suppose it's possible, but how?”

“The same way they got to Zarkon and caused the cargo ship to explode,” Allura replied, gaze and voice hardening. “And if we – all of us – are going to figure this out -”

“And save your life,” Keith put in with a pointed look for Skolark.

“You need to answer quite a few questions, Councilor,” Allura concluded.

With a sigh the President of the Imperial Council rested his head back on the pillows. “All right,” he whispered, barely audible. “It's more than past time for you to know the whole truth.” His eyes drifted closed. “I'll tell you everything.”


	9. Puzzles

“I don't know why I feel even a bit surprised,” Lance said as he wearily rubbed his forehead. “I mean it's not like we didn't know how bad the Druids were, or anything.”

Allura sighed and leaned back in her chair. They had gathered in the lounge rather than the dining/conference room after Skolark had fallen asleep, looking for physical comfort after what had been an exhausting conversation on all sides. “Still, it _is_ a surprise. They spent years – centuries, in fact – pulling the strings from behind the scenes. What did they need with any sort of overt power?”

“It's only my personal theory,” Skolark had said in response to that question barely an hour before. “But I think that despite being dependent on them and their skills Zarkon couldn't bear the idea of his rule being anything less than absolute, so he did what he could to keep them subservient. It's no wonder that resentment eventually boiled over.”

“And we still don't have an answer to the most pressing question,” Keith put in. He was the only person in the lounge not sitting; he paced like a caged animal, hands clasped behind his back. “We still don't know how Zarkon was killed.”

“He was poisoned, duh.” Lanced lifted his head up from the sofa enough that his eye roll was clearly seen. “Skolark and Borkas were both pretty clear on that.”

Keith stopped pacing long enough to glare at the Blue Paladin. “That's how he _died_ , not how he was _killed_. It's an important distinction.”

“Keith's right: it is important,” Coran spoke up for the first time since they all entered the room. “Knowing how it was done could help us figure out how to save Skolark.”

A deferential cough sounded in the room, drawing everyone's attention to Hunk. As usual in this sort of gathering he had been quiet and watchful, listening intently as the conversation moved around him. “I, uh, have an idea how it may have been done,” he spoke up once everyone's eyes were on him. “We know that the Druids used quintessence to extend Zarkon's lifespan far, faaaaaaar beyond the norm. Well, what if they also used it to introduce the poison into his system?”

Keith looked thoughtful as he and Allura exchanged a glance, then as one they turned to Coran. “Is that even possible?” Keith asked.

“I don't see why not,” Coran replied with a shrug. “They modified quintessence to make an explosive, after all.” His expression closed in as he gave the idea further thought. “It would actually explain a lot,” he mused after a pause. “Remember the rumors about Zarkon's erratic behavior in the seven months before his death? All the talk about his strange, and increasing, indecisiveness, and the fact that he had apparently developed a maudlin streak?”

Allura sat forward, face lit up. “Yes, it was all anyone talked about for a while, and subsequently the only gossip from the empire that reached us! You think that was the beginning of the poisoning?”

“It's one possible explanation.” He turned to Hunk. “What do you think?”

“I think we need to get word of this to Pidge and Shiro. They're in a better position right now to test this hypothesis.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

The flight to the Garrison took longer than Shiro had expected, mainly because Pidge insisted they get completely above Earth's atmosphere to avoid any possibility of being detected. “Can you imagine the uproar of two unknown space craft approaching one of the world's largest military installations at speeds unknown to anyone on this planet?” she had asked when he expressed his bemusement. “We should count ourselves lucky that nothing has happened already!”

Shiro had wanted to point out that the Lions could hardly be considered unknown since Commander Iverson and a few others had witnessed the Blue Lion during that first, memorable flight but had kept his thoughts to himself. Mainly because Pidge did, as usual, make a valid point; Sora's size alone would be enough to send most of the planet into some sort of tizzy. He had been aware of that fact when he first arrived, making sure to sync up his orbit with his home before descending almost directly into Myagi at what was probably a dangerous speed.

Okay, so on balance Pidge's insistence wasn't that strange.

The click of the communicator activating sounded in his helmet. “Not long now,” Pidge's voice came across the system. “We should be in geosynchronous above the Garrison in about ten minutes. We'll have to descend ridiculously fast, and I've plotted a landing zone near the ravine where we first found Maji. We can take the speeders from there.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan.” A soon as he finished speaking Shiro became aware of a low-pitched beeping, both in his own cockpit and coming through from Pidge. “What's that?” he asked, feeling a frisson of fear chase down his spine.

“It's the ULF alert,” Pidge responded, and the matter-of-fact tone of her voice immediately calmed him down. “It's a message from Arus. The beeping tells you that the message is still transmitting; once it stops we'll know it's complete.” She flipped a couple of switches on her control panel, bringing up a screen that showed the compression status of the message. “It's a long message,” she commented, holding back a whistle. “I mean really long; I wonder what's happened.”

“If it was urgent they would have contacted us through the regular channels, right?” Shiro asked, feeling worry start to gnaw at him again.

“Depends on how secret the information is.”

“Can you tell how long it'll take to receive?

“Not exactly, but a pretty good estimate is possible.” Pidge checked the compression and download rates, humming as she did some quick thinking. “We'll definitely be on the ground before it finishes,” she finally answered. “One of us will have to stay with the Lions while the other heads to the Garrison.”

“No.” Shiro shook his head even though he knew she couldn't see it. “We're not splitting up. Not for any reason.”

“Shiro. . .”

“I mean it,” he added, tone emphatic. “Call it fear, call it instinct, call it whatever the _quiznack_ you want to, but I want us living in each other's back pockets for the duration of this mission.”

“It's not really a mission, you know.”

“Fine! Research project, whatever,” Shiro sighed. “I just. . . I don't want to run the risk. Ever since that cargo ship blew up something hasn't felt right. I wish I could explain it better.”

He could hear Pidge's sigh over the communicator; it sounded fond and exasperated at the same time. He waited for her to start arguing with him, the way she frequently did. “We'll need to start our descent soon,” she said instead. “Run a diagnostic on the cloak, just to be on the safe side. We'll be using them at full capacity when we get there, and I don't want to take any risks.”

Shiro didn't question her words, just did as he was told. All the readings came up normal, and he sighed in relief. It had been a worry since he had arrived on Earth, he knew. The cloaking system was one of the biggest drains on power, after all, and with some remaining uncertainty about Balmeran crystals on their home planet is was important to keep on top of the issue. “Everything's fine,” he reported. “Power levels normal and all indicators are green.”

“Same here,” was Pidge's only comment. Then a higher pitched chime sounded, covering up the continuing beep of the ULF transmitter. “That's our cue,” she said, and a split second later Ivy dove straight down, fire streaking out behind her as soon as she entered the atmosphere. The static over the communicator was normal during a re-entry, but it still made Shiro nervous as he nudge Sora's controls to follow. He knew they had cleared re-entry as soon as the static ceased and he could hear Pidge chuckling.

“What's so funny?” he asked.

“Just. . .” She laughed some more. “You want us in each other's back pockets? Seriously? I mean if you wanted in my pants all you had to do was ask.”

“That isn't. . . It's not. . .”

Pidge laughed harder. “Oh my God! I can actually hear you blushing! That's so cute!”

“CUTE?!” Shiro exclaimed, coughing as he practically choked on the word.

“Well, yeah,” Pidge responded, laughter still clear in her voice. “Such a cute little boy,” she all but cooed.

Shiro slid a hand underneath his helmet's visor and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew I was going to regret telling you guys my birthday was Leap Day,” he grumbled, sending Pidge off into more peals of laughter.

“Well, I'll let go of the jokes for now,” Pidge said, stifling a final giggle. “Our landing zone is in range.”

It certainly was. As Shiro engaged the reverse thrusters to slow Sora's momentum he recognized the rock formation that was a match for the Fraunhofer line Hunk had calculated, and memories came rushing back. His own crash landing, the ragged escape from the Garrison's forces, the discovery of the Blue Lion. . . They had proven to be some of the most pivotal moments in his life. It had brought him friendship, a whole additional family, and even love.

“You are the Worst. Pilot. Ever,” Pidge whispered, showing that she was just as caught up in memories.

Shiro laughed. “On that day it was true,” he replied, hearing Pidge's faint chuckle in return. “He's changed a lot since then.”

“We all have.”

“Me least of all, I sometimes think,” Shiro went on, musing. “Five years in cryo-freeze -”

“That doesn't make a difference,” Pidge's harsh voice cut him off. “Time isn't an accurate measure in any of this. I was a pilot, a Paladin of Voltron, and fighting in an intergalactic war when I was fourteen, for pity's sake! Years don't mean a thing; experience counts, and you had more than enough of that for a lifetime.”

The Lions touched down near the cave where they first found Maji and for a time they were both occupied with shutting down systems and the usual post-flight checklist. When they were done the only mechanical sound left was the ULF alert. Shiro spoke in the new quiet.

“Thank you, Katie.”

“For what?

“For reminding me what's -”

The beeping suddenly ceased, leaving a nearly breathless hush in its wake. “It's done!” Pidge cried, clearly excited. “We've got the complete message! Sit tight, I'm coming over so we can check it together.”

It didn't take very long; barely a minute passed before Sora dropped his head and opened his mouth, allowing Pidge to enter the cockpit. She had the knapsack with her clothes in it on her back and was almost staggering under the weight of another bag, Shiro jumped to his feet and relieved her of it, shocked at just how heavy it was.

“What do you have in this thing?” he asked, setting it down with an audible clang.

“Just, uh, a few things from the lab I set up in Ivy. Things we might need, you know?”

Shiro fought down the urge to laugh. “You said your father had the best equipped lab in the world,” he reminded her with a smile. “Why would you need to bring anything other than those quintessence detectors?”

“Well, you never know what might be useful!” Pidge huffed. “I mean, I have some Altean tools in there that aren't exactly standard Earth stuff, and I really have no clue what might be needed in trying to help with your arm, and the Garrison's administration may object to our using their facilities, and I can't depend too much on my dad because I want to do this myself and -”

He laid a finger on her lips, stopping the flow of words. “Katie,” he began, but stopped after that, more focused on the softness of the skin under his finger, the plumpness of her bottom lip, and the desire to feel it against his own. “I -” He choked back any more words when Pidge took a step back, away from him, and his hand fell to his side.

“We need to watch this message,” was all she said before sitting in the pilot's chair and. opening up the ULF function. There was a high pitched whirring noise, then a holoscreen opened and they saw Hunk waving.

_Hey Pidge, Shiro! Hope everything is okay back on Earth. We've made some progress in the investigations since you both left, and there've been a few surprises along the way. Most of the info -_

The picture on the screen wavered for a moment as sounds of scuffling were heard. Then Lance's face appeared.

_Miss you guys! Oh, and if you get a chance could you **OOF**!_

Hunk's elbow flashed across the screen and made solid contact with Lance's stomach. Keith's voice could be heard in the background, something that sounded suspiciously like _I told you so!_. Then Hunk was back.

_As I was saying most of the information on what we've learned is contained in the data files attached to this message. You should have no trouble cracking the triple encryption, but it could take a while. I hope you aren't having any trouble with the Balmeran crystals and their power levels on Earth, because from this point on Allura wants you to keep Ivy and Sora fully cloaked. You'll understand when you decrypt the data and get a good look at it. Wish I could talk a bit longer, but this message is already going to take longer than average to transmit. Take care of yourselves, and of each other._

The video abruptly ended. Pidge tapped the replay button on the controller, and they sat through it one more time. Then she pulled up a list of the encrypted data files, letting out a low whistle as she did.

“What?” Shiro asked, glancing from the list on the screen to Pidge's face.

She shook her head. “Hunk wasn't kidding; this will take a least a day to decrypt and download.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “In a normal situation I'd simply remove the ULF unit and do all the work in my Dad's lab, but under the circumstances I don't think that would be a good idea.”

“Any particular reason why?”

In response Pidge simply pointed at one of the file names, and Shiro felt a shiver race up his spine as he realized what they were looking at.

The file name was in Galran script.

****~**~**~**~**~****

When Borkas walked into the dining area the next morning it was to find everyone else already there. He paused in the door, unsure of his presence there, but Hunk quickly rose to his feet and came forward, one hand held out. “Come in, Borkas,” he said with a smile. “Breakfast is almost over, but I can prepare you something quick. Not that I really know too much about Galra cuisine, but I'll give it a go.” He bustled out of the room.

“He. . . He's the cook?” Borkas asked, confused. “But he's a Paladin of Voltron!”

Lance laughed at that. “Well, we're all Paladins and we all have second jobs as part of the Castle's crew.”

“Sometimes even third and fourth jobs,” Keith added.

“And perhaps it's time to get back to some of those jobs?” Allura asked. “Lance, I believe you have first patrol this morning, so you should get a move on."

Lance just nodded and quickly downed his glass of orange juice (made from fruit he had brought back after visiting his family on Earth), then he threw a jaunty salute, picked up his helmet and dashed out the door. It wasn't long before the rumble of thrusters was felt and then a muted roar as the Blue Lion took off, headed to the demilitarized zone.

Hunk came back in with another platter heaped with food, Earth specialties like scrambled eggs and toast, a few croissants, bacon, sausage, and another pitcher of orange juice. He bowed to both Allura and the medic before he and Keith left the room, Keith talking about some maintenance that needed to be done on the Castle's climate system.

Borkas looked at it all of the food with a dubious expression, making Allura chuckle. “I assure you it's all edible,” she said. “Not what we're used to, but when one's Paladins all come from Earth you learn to adapt.” She poured him a glass of juice. “This, especially, is a treat.” She waited until he took a sip, laughing when his eyebrows went up in pleased surprise, before she spoke again. “How is Councilor Skolark this morning?”

Borkas swallowed some more orange juice and decided to risk the eggs and a croissant. “He was still asleep when I checked, but his breathing is easier and his skin color is returning to normal. Whatever was used on him seems to be clearing from his system.” He put a forkful of scrambled egg into his mouth and gave a pleased hum at the taste. “I'm grateful to you, Princess, for your willingness to help him.”

Allura waved off the thanks. “I couldn't not help,” she said. “He and I need each other right now if we're going to make a lasting peace.” She looked a tad uncomfortable for a moment before she went on. “Frankly, I'm glad for the opportunity to speak to you alone,” she quietly spoke. “I wanted to ask your opinion about everything Skolark told us last night. Get a fresh perspective from someone who wasn't so close to the situation.”

The Galra medic didn't pretend to not know what she was speaking off. “I wasn't privy to any of the examinations made at the time of Zarkon's death,” he finally replied. “But the things we learned last night confirmed a few suspicions I had.”

“Like?”

He shrugged and set his silverware down on the plate. “Zarkon's erratic behavior in the months before his death. I suspected at the time that some sort of illness was the cause, but the Druids would never let me or any other medic near him. I know of a number of poisons that would also have accounted for his symptoms, any one of which could have been introduced into his system via quintessence.”

Allura nodded. “It always seemed obvious that quintessence is what kept him alive for so long so I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise it caused his death.” They sat in silence, each ruminating. “Do you think it's a different poison at use now?”

Borkas was quick to shake his head in negation. “I doubt it. The symptoms are different, to be sure, but I think that can be accounted for by the method of delivery. Without the interference of quintessence and Druid magic the poison may be reacting as it's supposed to.”

“Which would also explain why it effected Skolark faster,” Allura concluded. She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “Unless. . .”

“Unless what?”

“Is it possible that Zarkon's death was an accident? An unintended overdose? After all, the Druids had almost complete control over him by that time, so why would they want to kill him?”

“They were probably counting on his death causing a destabilization within the Empire that they could step in and fix, making them almost heroes,” Borkas said. “It would have been difficult to eject them from the machinery of government if that had happened. Their anger at the quick actions of the Imperial Council in arranging a truce would certainly account for the rebellion that happened just a few months later.”

“And the poisoning of Skolark?” Allura asked.

“Same motive,” Borkas responded with no hesitation. “With one added wrinkle.” He smiled without humor. “The next in line to become Council President is more sympathetic to the Druids and their causes.”

“So for the foreseeable future our best course of action is to keep Skolark alive,” Allura mused. “Which, as far as I can tell, means keeping him here.” She sighed and slouched back in her chair. “That should make things interesting.”


	10. Complication

“Katie! If you want breakfast you need to get down here in the next five minutes or you can starve for the rest of the day!”

Pidge's eyes snapped open at her mother's aggrieved shout and she jerked upright, grunting at the pain in her lower back and neck. Another night spent asleep hunched over her lab table was not doing her a whole lot of good, but the need to make sense out of the decrypted files had taken over her entire existence. She knew she really should get up and start her day, but the idea was thoroughly unappealing. She laid her head back down on the lab table and. . .

A warm hand was laid on the nape of her neck at the same moment a plate was put in front of her. The scent of bacon penetrated her subconscious and Pidge woke with a start. She blinked rapidly and gave her head a shake, hoping to dispel some of the cobwebs. “I fell back asleep,” she mumbled. “I did, didn't I?”

Shiro's soft chuckle was a comforting sound. “You did. I had to bribe your mother to save you some breakfast.”

“Bribed, huh?” Pidge pulled the plate closer and popped a piece of bacon in her mouth. “You probably just smiled at her. She's always been a total sucker for that.”

“Whatever works.” Shiro pulled up a chair beside her and tapped the gauntlet from her armor, opening a data screen that had a list of the decrypted files on it. “Any luck with all of this?” he asked.

Pidge's nose wrinkled as she bit a piece of toast, chewing for a moment. “I've only made progress with one of the files,” she replied after swallowing. “And all it was was the test results on what was left of the quintessence discovered in the cargo ship, and those are kind of old news.”

“So it was definitely one of the causes of the explosion?”

She hummed in agreement. “It's nothing we didn't already know, of course, but confirmation never hurts.” She swiped a finger across the screen and highlighted the file in Galran script. “I've been hoping to get somewhere with this one, but the file size is. . . well, enormous is not too much of an exaggeration.”

“What about the rest of it?”

“Mostly patrol reports,” Pidge replied, opening one of the report files. “This one is the only one of any interest. It seems Keith had a brief run-in with a Galra drone fighter on the edge of the demilitarized zone. The Imperial Council claimed it was just a malfunction, but I have a hard time believing that.”

“I do too,” Shiro almost absently commented as his eyes skimmed over the report. “Drone fighters operate almost as a hive mind, so any malfunction would effect all of them within a specific area.” He suddenly straightened up, away from the data screen, and turned to meet Pidge's eyes. “Unless. . .”

“Exactly,” she said with an emphatic nod. “We could be looking at another case of modified quintessence, something planted or injected into one particular fighter's systems to make it go rogue at a certain time.” She sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. “But the question of why still remains.”

Shiro rose to his feet and paced the room for a few minutes. Pidge, who could recognize Shiro's 'command mode' when she saw it, kept quiet and waited for him to speak.

“Okay, here's what we're going to do,” he finally said. “I know getting all of this decryption done and the files read is important, but for now I want it to take a backseat to checking every square inch of this house and the Garrison for quintessence.”

Pidge's jaw dropped. “The. . . The Garrison? The _entire_ Garrison?” she stumbled over the words, dumbfounded. “Shiro, that'll take days!”

He shook his head. “I know, but I have a couple of ideas on how we can make things go quicker.” He reached across the lab table and picked up the quintessence detector that Hunk had invented. “Can you make three more of these?”

“Easily. But why?”

“With four of them you, your father, Matt, and I can all scan the facility. Once we find evidence that there is quintessence on site we can narrow our search using the detector calibrated to find modifications.”

Eyes widening Pidge gave her head a shake. “You said 'Once we find evidence'. You think it's when, not if. You believe we're definitely going to find something.”

He nodded. “Yes, I do. It might be just a hunch, but it's a feeling I can't shake. And I'd rather know sooner than later.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Any word?” Keith snapped out as he entered the control room, sweaty and irritated after a long shift on patrol.

Coran shook his head, not at all offended by the abruptness of the Red Paladin's tone. “We know they received the message and downloaded all of the data files we sent, but that's about it.” He glanced at Keith, taking in the jittery tapping of his fingers against his leg and the agitated way he kept pulling at his hair. “Did something happen on patrol?” he asked.

“Hmm? What?” Keith brought his attention back from wherever it had wandered. “No, nothing. All thoroughly boring and unfortunately predictable.” He tried to smile but it came across as more of a grimace. “You know, same old, same old.” He turned away to leave the room.

“Then what has you so jumpy?”

The dark haired head whipped around and his eyes lifted to meet Coran's. “Is it that obvious?”

“To someone who knows you, yes,” Coran responded, voice a soft murmur. “In fact I think I could probably make a pretty good guess as to what's bothering you.” When Keith didn't demur he went on. “You're worried about Shiro and Pidge because we haven't heard anything from them in almost one of your Earth weeks. You think that the drone fighter you had an issue with on patrol is just one more sign of something disturbing buried under all of the Imperial Council's expressions of goodwill. And that makes you even more worried about everything, but especially your team mates.” “The Altean winked. “You wouldn't be as fine a leader as you are if you didn't worry.”

Keith huffed out a breath and pushed his hair away from his eyes. “I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one worrying, though,” he said with a wry smile. “You were just a little too quick in answering my question, you know.”

Coran laughed and put his hands up. “Guilty.” He turned back to the main control panel and pressed a few buttons, bringing up a map of Earth's galactic sector. “I've been trying to keep an eye on things, but Earth is ridiculously far away. All I know for sure is that Sora and Ivy changed locations in the last week.”

Keith looked interested and stepped closer. “Where are they?” he asked, reaching towards the controls to change the focus of the map, Earth coming into sharper focus.

“Umm, here.” The Altean punched in some coordinates and the holographic Earth spun and then zoomed in. Keith recognized that spot on the map.

“They're at the Garrison.” He sounded surprised. “I wonder -”

There was a crackle of static in the communication system and then Lance's voice came through loud and clear. “Come in, Arus!” There was definite panic in his voice and they could clearly hear the sound of Maji's engines straining. “I've got trouble out here!”

Keith didn't take the time to ask any questions. “Alert Hunk to get Lupa in the air, and tell Lance I'm on my way,” he shouted as he ran from the control room, bumping into Allura and Borkas as he did.

She started in surprise and opened her mouth to ask, but one look at Keith's face halted her before a single word could escape. “What's going on?” she questioned as soon as she was close to the control panel, leaving a bemused Borkas at the door.

“SHIT!”

“Lance?! What's wrong?”

The sound of lasers firing came over the com link, followed by Lance's response. “These damned – Fuck! - drones are all over the place! One of them crossed out of the DMZ and into our territory, and before I knew it there were at least fifty of the bastards, maybe more.” He grunted and they could hear servos whining and metal creaking as he steered his lion to avoid getting hit. “I need help! And permission to fight back!”

“Permission granted!” Allura shouted in response. There was a beat of disconcerting silence before they all heard Hunk's exultant shout and the crunch as Lupa's massive jaws closed around probably more than one Galra drone fighter. It had always been one of Hunk's favorite fighting moves.

More lasers fired, only this time the sound had the distinct crackle of Eldur's fire weapon. This was confirmed by the sound of Keith's voice a moment later. “Do whatever you can to keep one of them intact,” he commanded. “We'll need it if we're going to figure out what's going on.”

“Message received!” Lance called out, joyous. Allura smiled to herself; Maji's ice would come in handy in preserving a drone for them to study.

“He thinks this is the same malfunction as before,” Borkas stated, referring to Keith's previous encounter with a problem fighter.

Allura nodded, her eyes glued to the holographic display showing the battle currently taking place. “He does, and so do I.” She glanced at the medic out of the corner of her eye. “Do you know much about the drone's function and engineering?”

“I know the basics,” was the response. “Enough that I can help you figure out what's going on, if that was your next question.”

“Got him!” Lance exclaimed with a laugh.

“Good work. Hunk, grab hold and get that drone back to the Castle.” Keith's orders were short, terse, and to the point. “We've still got some work to do, Lance.”

“Understood!”

The fight after that was short, but fierce. Lance stayed out, resuming his regular patrol, when Keith returned to the Castle. He went straight to the pod hanger, where the frozen drone was waiting, slowly thawing and dripping. Allura, Hunk, and Borkas were all there. “Keith -” Allura began, only to be cut off when the Red Paladin emphatically shook his head.

“No questions yet,” he said. “Mainly because we don't have any answers. Once Lance finishes his patrol we'll grill him on what happened, but until then I'd rather we not speculate.” He looked at the drone, then at Hunk. “How long till it's thawed, do you think?”

Hunk shrugged. “A few hours, at the least.  Maybe a day.  I'd rather not rush the process, in case it damages something or effects whatever evidence we might find. But the preliminary scan I managed to do before it got frozen indicated it is the same malfunction that you had trouble with before.”

Keith nodded and turned to Borkas. “Why would so many of them break down, all at the same time?”

“You know that they all function basically as one unit, right?” Borkas asked. When both Keith and Hunk nodded the Galra went on. “In almost all circumstances a disruption in the functioning of one will effect the rest.”

“That didn't happen with the other malfunctioning fighter Keith encountered,” Allura put in. “Why is that?”

“There are two possible reasons for it,” Borkas replied. “At least two that I can come up with considering I'm not an expert in our drone technology. First, for any other drones to be effected by the same problem they have to be within a certain radius of the. . . Let's call it the index case,” he went on with a grin. “At least that's a medical term that I can understand.”

“Continuing on,” Keith growled.

Borkas coughed and looked abashed. “Right. So the connection between drones only works within a relatively limited distance, so it makes sense that if only one drone's function was disrupted it's because no others were close enough.”

“What's the other possibility?” Hunk asked, his expression that of someone taking careful mental notes.

“Drones are manufactured in batches, each batch programmed separately from the one preceding and the one following. So each member of a batch is connected to all of the others in more ways than just the obvious, and therefore can be brought down in more ways.” He took a deep breath. “Before Zarkon's death revealing what I just told you constituted treason, it was considered that important of a secret. But this has always been the greatest weakness of our technology. Crack the code or craft a virus and you can bring down an entire batch, which could be as many as ten thousand drones. And eventually, if the problem isn't repaired, it will spread to every other batch, and in an extreme case to the core unit that powers everything.”

Nobody spoke immediately after the explanation was complete, everyone wrapped in his or her own thoughts. The steady drip of water from the melting ice encasing the fighter was the only sound heard. Keith and Hunk exchanged a look, clearly both at a loss as to how to move forward. Hunk's eyebrows drew together in a scowl before he cocked his head toward Allura, the _You ask her!_ message as clear as if he had spoken. Keith gave his head a tiny shake and shot the Yellow Paladin an unmistakable glare. Finally, with a sigh, Hunk gave in.

“Uh, Princess?”

Allura started at the sound of Hunk's voice, head lifting and eyes widening at the attention of all three men focused on her. She coughed lightly to cover her initial discomfort, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Sorry,” she finally muttered. “I guess I got a little too lost in thought.” She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, a technique all of the Paladins had witnessed her using when she needed to concentrate, then turned to Borkas. “I understand what you're saying about drone batches,” she began, face a tense mask, “but let me ask you this: can something biological interfere with their function just as much as a computer virus or messing with the program code?”

Borkas frowned. “I. . . I'm not sure what you're getting at Princess.”

Hunk sucked in a breath at the exact moment Keith jerked his head around to stare at Allura. “Quintessence,” the Red Paladin breathed out. His lips twitched in a smile. “We all should have guessed this.”

The Galra medic's gaze moved between all three of them. “You think. . .” He stopped for a moment and rubbed his chin in thought. “I was going to say you're all crazy, but since we know it was used to blow up that cargo ship I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense to think that.” He laughed lightly. “Actually, it makes a lot of sense.”

“But the question here is is it possible?” Allura added, frowning as she spoke. “I mean we are talking about something that directly effected a drone's programming, and the list of things that could do that must be fairly limited.”

“Well, there is one slight issue with asking me that question.” When no one ventured a guess he continued. “Information on basically anything to do with quintessence – how it was collected, how it functioned, how it was used – was kept from the Empire's science community for decades. Centuries, probably. The Druids kept a stranglehold on all of that so they could be Zarkon's only source of that power, making him dependent on them in that one specific area. Anything I say with regard to this question is going to be. . . Well, maybe not completely speculative, but damned close. And I wouldn't want you to go off, chasing after something that is barely a possibility.”

Allura gave a small nod, a soft smile gracing her features. “I won't pretend I'm not disappointed, but I appreciate your honesty.” She grew quiet again as she thought, pacing a few yards back and forth. Finally she seemed to come to a decision. “Hunk, do you think your quintessence detector will work as the fighter is now? Without waiting for the ice to be completely gone?”

“Ummm, maybe,” Hunk replied with a shrug. “I think it'd be worth a try, at least.”

“What are you thinking?” Keith asked, eyebrows drawn together.

“I'm thinking that we should get an answer to the most obvious question first, and whatever else falls into place after that. . . well, that's just a bonus, isn't it?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Pidge sighed and forced herself to focus on the data screen in front of her, ignoring the growing headache that was throbbing behind her left eye. She had long ago lost track of how many hours she had spent with this particular file, trying to break the encryption.

“Why is it so hard?” Shiro had asked her one day. “I mean, it was sent from the Castle with all the others, and you had no trouble with them.”

“If I had to guess I'd say because it started out as a piece of Galra data,” had been Pidge's response. “There may have been some sort of underlying encryption on it before Allura ever got her hands on it, and between the two layers of code something got seriously messed up. And I don't want to contact the Castle about it because I have a feeling this is information we shouldn't have.”

A persistent pinging sound from the data screen pulled her back to the present and the problem she was supposed to be focusing on. When she saw what was there she sucked in a breath, snatched up the portable unit and ran from the room.

The halls of the Garrison were crowded with students making their way to the first class after lunch, and the fact that she could now see over a lot of their heads really hammered home how much time had passed since she'd been a cadet there. It made her smile, in a _Thank God I never have to go back!_ sort of way. The appreciative stares she received from some of the older boys was much less welcome, and she bit back the urge to tongue-lash the presumptuous little snots.

Finally, after a few minutes of fighting against the flow of student traffic she found herself in one of the large auditoriums that was usually reserved for assemblies and other occasions requiring the attendance of the entire student body. Commander Iverson stood just inside the door, habitual suspicious expression firmly in place. She shot him a cheeky grin as she skidded to a stop on the highly polished floor.

“SHIRO!” Her shout reverberated in the cavernous space, but the only head that appeared was one with hair that matched hers. She ran down the aisle toward her brother. “Matt! Where's Shiro?”

“Up in the sound loft. Why?”

Pidge grabbed his shirt and started to drag him toward the stage. “I've got some news, and you may as well hear it too.”

They were only halfway up the ladder, bickering in typical sibling fashion, when Shiro exited the loft. “What the hell, you two?” he exclaimed.

Matt just shrugged as Pidge scrambled up the last few rungs of the ladder to grab Shiro's hand. “I've got it!” she cried out. “I finally busted through the encryption.” She shoved the portable unit into his hands, waiting with bated breath as he quickly scanned the information. She knew by the way his eyes widened and his jaw dropped exactly when he reached the part that had surprised her.

“Is this for real?” Shiro finally asked, voice hushed. “I mean, I know it is, but. . . wow.” He looked from Pidge to Matt. “We need to get in touch with the Castle, and do it a lot faster than the ultra low frequency transmitter allows. What do you think is the most secure channel we can get?” He directed the last question to Matt.

“Probably the com unit that Dad and I built. Why?”

Pidge looked torn between laughter and fear. “Because if we're right there are a few people out there in the big, wide, universe that would kill for what we know.”


	11. Speculation

“Are you sure this will work? I mean, Earth technology may not be compatible. We should probably use the regular communication system in the Lions. But those conform to the intergalactic standard and run the risk of interception. But how can any of this work? It may be safer, I know th-”

A finger pressed into Pidge's lips, cutting off the panicky flow of words. Matt chuckled as he connected an Altean data screen to a standard Garrison computer. “Thank god somebody knows how to shut her up,” he muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

Pidge sucked in an angry breath. “I'll shut -”

“Katie.”

The name was soft, but in Sam Holt's mouth it was undeniably a command. Matt grinned, clearly ready to continue the taunting, but a glare from his father let him know that he was also included in the reprimand. And with a quick look of thanks to his old commander Shiro took Pidge's hand and all but dragged her to the other side of the room, out of earshot of her father and brother.

“If this does work what are we supposed to say?” he asked the Green Paladin. “All we have is a mess of speculation and supposition, all culled from a rather loose connecting of the dots. And we haven't even begun the work that we came here to do!” he finished, voice rising as he waved his right hand before Pidge's face.

Pidge took a couple of deep breaths, mainly to give herself some time to put together a response. She didn't want to mention that ninety per cent of her conclusions were based entirely on instinct, as that was likely to launch Shiro into full panic mode. She needed to at least make it seem like some reasoned, logical thought had gone into it. “Okay, calm down, Shiro. Yes, we're deep in the realm of speculation on this, but I'm willing to bet that Hunk, at least, has come to the same conclusions. Allura too, most likely. So we're not going to come across as half-baked, if that's what you're worried about.”

He scowled in response. “That is _not_ what I'm worried about,” he huffed, releasing her hand. “I'm worried about the ramifications if all of this speculation turns out to be true!” he tugged at the white hair of his forelock and sighed. “If we're right all of this – this conspiracy – runs much deeper than anyone imagined.”

“And it probably runs much further back in time,” Pidge added, smiling weakly when Shiro glared at her. “Sorry. I don't want to make it worse, but. . .”

“Hey lovebirds, it's working!”

Matt's shout cut across their conversation and caused both of them to blush to the tips of their ears. They moved back across the room to where the two male Holts were waiting, and Shiro choked back a laugh when Pidge punched her brother in the stomach. Sam, wisely, showed no reaction, just continued with what he was doing.

“The visual is a little sketchy,” he said, adjusting a few controls, “but otherwise it's good to go.”

“Shiro? Pidge?” Allura's voice came through the system loud and clear, and even though she couldn't see the princess Pidge felt immeasurably better just hearing her voice. A quick glance to the side told her that Shiro joined her in those feelings.

“We're here, Princess,” Shiro said, grinning. “I wish we could see each other, but for now this'll have to do.”

“I'm working on it, I'm working on it!”

Allura laughed. “I have faith in you, Commander Holt.” A burst of static drowned out her next words. “ - and we have a few things to catch you up on.”

“Before you do, Princess, there's something we need to share with you,” Pidge spoke for the first time. She quickly glanced at Shiro, who nodded to indicate she should continue. “We noticed a pretty insignificant detail in the records of the Druid trial, and, well, maybe jumped to an unwarranted conclusion. But -”

“Got it!” Sam called out. “Visuals working!”

A holoscreen appeared in the air in front of Shiro and Pidge, the grainy picture taking a minute to resolve itself into Allura's anxious face, Keith immediately behind her. They both smiled. “You were saying?” Allura queried.

Pidge coughed and felt a flush creep up her face. “Umm, yeah. Like I said this may be a totally ridiculous conclusion, but we -” She gestured to the space between herself and Shiro. “We both agree that it should be examined.”

On the other end of the call Keith nodded. “The way things are going right now I don't think there is such a thing as an insignificant detail, so spill whatever you have, and then we'll add our latest.”

“Okay, but remember that I warned you.” Allura and Keith both nodded, exchanging a humorous glance before Pidge continued. “Okay, so like I said I spotted this detail in the records of the Druid trial and it just struck me as odd. Out of place, you know? And I kept thinking about the explosion and the quintessence, and, well, made what I though was a logical leap. I'm probably wrong, but it seemed reasonable at the time -”

Shiro wrapped an arm around Pidge from behind, placing a hand over her mouth as he did. “There was a brief mention in the official transcript of the trial about how the drones used to record the proceedings had all malfunctioned the previous day, and we both wondered if it was possible that modified quintessence had been involved.”

Both Allura's and Keith's eyes widened and they had a quick, whispered, conversation. Then Keith disappeared from the holoscreen, although his footsteps were still audible. When the princess turned back her face was set in grim lines. “There's someone else I want to include in this conversation before we go any further on this subject. But can I assume you both read the patrol report about the rogue drone fighter that Keith encountered?” When both Pidge and Shiro nodded she went on. “Well, a bigger and better version of that incident occurred yesterday.” Then she went on to explain what had happened during Lance's patrol and the frozen fighter currently sitting in the pod hanger. “We tried scanning it with one of Hunk's quintessence detectors but the ice interfered too much to get a clear reading. We've continued checking at regular intervals as it thaws, but so far haven't had any luck.”

The sound of a door swishing open came over the com system and Allura stood and moved away, making room for the newcomer. Shiro's eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face when he recognized the Galra medic who had been his first friend during his time as a hostage. “Borkas!” he exclaimed happily.

The Galra smiled in return, if a little sadly. “It is good to see you, Shiro,” he replied. “I wish it was under better circumstances, though.”

“How is Skolark?” Shiro asked, zeroing in on what he knew was a major concern.

“Better. Much better. But I don't know how long we can stay away from the Imperial Center before the political situation implodes.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But there are more pressing issues right now. Keith told me about what you discovered in the trial records.” And he went on to give Pidge and Shiro the same basic explanation of drone technology that he had already imparted to the rest of the Castle's crew.

“So you guys also suspect that quintessence could have been used to effect the programming of a batch of drones?” Pidge put in as soon as Borkas finished speaking.

“We do,” Keith responded with a nod. “And with luck we'll find something as soon as that fighter thaws out.”

“Why haven't you just used Eldur's fire power to do the job?”

“Too much risk of either contaminating the evidence or blowing up the entire pod hanger,” Allura said with a grim smile. “We all agreed it would be best to wait, although it's been hard.” She gave her head a determined shake as if to dispel negative thoughts before speaking again. “Given what we now all suspect I think the two of you should focus your efforts on Shiro's arm. Any – and I mean ANY – insight we can gain on the interaction of technology and quintessence would be to our advantage.”

“But we were -”

“That's fine, Princess,” Shiro interrupted Pidge, earning himself an angry glower. “We'll get right on that.” Then he cut the link and the call came to an abrupt end.

“What the _quiznack_ was that for?” Pidge asked, eyebrows drawing together. “Shiro?”

He knew that both Matt and Sam had their eyes on him even though he didn't turn away from Pidge. “I don't want to tell them what we've been doing,” was all he said, and it was enough of a explanation for Pidge, who nodded.

“All right. I don't necessarily agree, but I'll not contradict you.” She glanced behind Shiro to where her father and brother were standing, mixed looks of concern and confusion on their faces. “Can you guys leave us alone for a bit?” she asked in a tone that brooked no refusal. Even so Sam had to grab Matt by the arm and basically drag him from the room. Pidge didn't hesitate to shut and lock the door behind them, making sure that the soundproofing filter was also engaged before returning to glowering at Shiro. “Spill.”

Shiro rubbed one hand on the back of his head. “Look, you already think I'm crazy for insisting on this quintessence quest and I didn't feel like enduring the same from the rest of the team.”

“I don't think -”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Yes, you do. You just care for me enough to not say it out loud. And a part of me knows that you're right; other than Maji's presence there is absolutely no evidence that Galra, Alteans, or Druids ever set foot on Earth. But if I have learned anything over the course of my life it is to never ignore your instincts.” He collapsed into the uncomfortable task chair behind Sam's work table, wincing as it creaked under his weight. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I'm making it sound like I think you're humoring me when I know that's not the case.” He looked up to see Pidge standing much closer to him then he expected.

“I'm not humoring you and I don't think you're crazy,” she said, brushing his hair back from his forehead. “I have pretty much the same instinct as you in this regard. Beside, I'd rather know for sure than not, you know?” Shiro nodded and they let the silence draw out between them, calm and comfortable. Then. . .

“We should let Dad and Matt back in and get back to work,” Pidge said, holding out a hand and pulling him to his feet. “I'm not expecting we'll stop checking for quintessence, but starting tomorrow we will follow Allura's orders and start work on your hand. Agreed?” She gave his hand in hers a gentle squeeze.

“Agreed.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

When he shifted position to scan another part of the ceiling Lance banged his knee, hard, on the opposite bulkhead, giving an impressive display of creative cursing. Coran's head appeared out of a nearby hatch to see what was going on, and he just grinned at the grimace of pain on Lance's face.

“I'm so glad my agony is a source of pleasure to someone,” the Blue Paladin griped, trying to stretch his legs enough to ease the sore knee. “These fighters are definitely not built for human habitation. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“Yes, well, the word 'drone' does rather imply that, don't you think?” Coran's hand dropped through the overhead hatch, passing what looked like some sort of circuit board to Lance, who took it without question. It was the third one of the afternoon, and he was starting to think they weren't going to find anything. Based on Borkas' explanation they needed the fighter that had been directly infected if they were going to obtain proof of their theory, but Coran suspected that the connection between all of the drones would leave some clue, some trace behind in all of the fighters.

“Coran?” An encouraging hum sounded above him so Lance continued. “What do you think is going on with all of this? I mean, there's all the theories and speculation, but what do you really think? What do you expect to find?”

“I honestly don't know.” Coran's voice echoed slightly in the space. “I know what I'm afraid is happening, but I can't say I really think anything.” Another piece of the fighter's computer system dropped out of the hatch; Lance had to twist himself practically into a knot to catch it. He was on the verge of asking what Coran meant by 'afraid' when the needle on his quintessence detector suddenly jumped to the red zone, fell back, then all but buried itself at the top of the scale. He grinned and showed the screen to Coran when the Altean dropped his head through the hatch.

“Bingo.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Borkas took a long moment to study the lines of code that Coran had managed to extract from the fighter while everyone else waited with baited breath. Allura was pacing the length of the lab, unable to sit still. When the Galra finally sat back from the holoscreen with a sigh she stopped, her head snapping around so fast it had to have hurt.

“WELL?!”

“I can't say absolutely for sure, you understand. But if pressed I'd have to say that yes, there appear to be substantial alterations in the programming code.”

“Enough to have caused, or been caused by, whatever that malfunction was the other day?” Keith asked, getting straight to the point.

“More likely the latter,” Coran responded with a sideways glance at Lance.

“Yeah, we found so little evidence of quintessence on that fighter,” the Blue Paladin added. “I think we can take it as a given that that drone was not the source of the malfunction, but a victim of it.”

“So the last remaining question is do we have enough evidence to take this to the Imperial Council?” Allura asked, meeting the gaze of everyone else present.

“There is one other, unfortunately.”

They all turned to the door to see Skolark there. He looked much better than when he had first arrived in the Castle, but still weak and unsteady on his legs. Hunk leapt forward and grabbed hold of one arm, guiding the Council President to the room's only chair, vacated by Borkas. Skolark eased himself into the seat with a soft groan, thanking Hunk with a smile before addressing the gathering again. “You first need to ask yourself if you _want_ to share this with the Imperial Council.”

Keith looked like he wanted to hit something, and Lance moved slightly out of his reach. Then, out of nowhere, Keith started to laugh, causing everyone to stare at him in concern. This went on for a few minutes, until his chuckles finally died away and he scrubbed a hand down his face, pressing his fingers against his temples. When he looked up again he stared directly at Skolark. “So that's it, is it?” he finally said, sounding disgusted and a little angry. “What else haven't you told us?”

“Keith -”

He turned on Allura, practically snarling. “Don't you get it?” he all but shouted, flinging out a hand toward Skolark. “He knows that the Druids are behind everything! This has all been about getting us to do his dirty work because he didn't trust anyone on their end to help him prove it! So what else, Councilor? How many of your fellows do you suspect of being involved? Did you sit back and let them poison you because it would make your argument more eloquently than words? Where does it all stop?”

“Keith. Holy shit.” Lance's words were carried on a mere breath, but it was enough to penetrate the haze of anger consuming the Red Paladin. Keith stepped back, away from the group, and shoved a hand through his hair, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Allura, who's face had paled as soon as Keith's tirade began, now felt a flush spreading across her skin. She knew better than to think that he would apologize, even though she could tell he regretted his outburst. And for her part her brain was reeling with the implications of everything Keith had said. She turned to Skolark. “Is he right?” she asked, squashing a twinge of guilt as she did her best to stare the Galra president down.

Skolark chuckled weakly. “About which parts?”

“Any of it. All of it. I don't really care which, I just want some answers.”

With a sigh the Council President settled against the back of the chair, trying to get comfortable. “He's not right, not really. I don't _know_ anything, but let's just say I have a lot of really strong suspicions. Especially as concerns certain of my fellow Councilors.” He sighed again, this time with a hint of pain, and Borkas stepped forward, looking uncertain. Skolark shook his head once and the medic stepped back. “I have not been a party to any of the strange happenings that have plagued you recently, although I can't say I'm disappointed that it's pushed us closer as a result. As for my being poisoned myself. . .”

“It is beyond ridiculous that anyone could think he allowed it to happen,” Borkas averred. “Nearly dying for a chance to manipulate Team Voltron is a bit extreme, wouldn't you say?”

“I would.” Hunk's reply drew every eye to him. “Well, it is kind of stupid, you have to admit. Risking death on the off chance? On a 'maybe'?”

Keith blushed bright red but still didn't apologize. Skolark, who seemed to find the situation amusing, simply went on with what he was saying. “Most of what we are now discussing was deliberately kept from you during the five year truce by a majority vote of the Council.” He glanced at Keith. “I voted against it, by the way. I was then, and still am, convinced that our best hope of rooting out and triumphing over the remnants of the Druids is full and complete cooperation with our former enemies. And accomplishing that has recently become more urgent than ever.”

Allura looked confused. “Why?”

“Because during the Green Lion's visit to the Galra home world a less-than-reputable member of the scientific community indulged in an unauthorized scan of the Lion's systems,” Borkas replied, fidgeting uncomfortably.

'WHAT?!” That single shout came from five different throats. Allura, who's right to be the most indignant no one questioned, continued. “That was an absolutely despicable violation of our trust, and of the truce that was still in effect at the time. I demand some form of reparation!”

“Your reparation is coming right now, and in the form of information,” Skolark responded heatedly. He had to pause as his voice dissolved into a coughing fit, but once he recovered the final piece of the puzzle was slotted into place. “The illegal scan provided our scientists with some additional insight into the nature of all of the Lions, including their elemental affinities. Using that data, and a handful of things we learned while the Red Lion was in our possession, we were able to match each Lion to its element, and each element to a Paladin.” There was the slightest emphasis on the last word he spoke.

Lance, Hunk, and Keith all paled, eyes widening as they stared at Skolark. “You mean. . .” Lance managed to gasp out.

The Council President nodded. “Yes, I do. I have reason to believe that the Druids are now interested in Earth.”


	12. Possibilities

“Were you wanting to give me a special, private grilling, Princess?”

Allura stopped just inside the door of the room that had been allotted to Skolark, uncertain and hesitant. But it wasn't a lie that she wanted to speak to him privately; she just wasn't precisely sure how to broach the subject. She exhaled and came the rest of the way into the room, gracefully sliding into the one chair provided. “I do have a few things I want to ask you,” she finally spoke. “Things that I would prefer not to discuss in front of the Paladins.” Her mouth twisted in a grimace. “You already upset them enough.”

Skolark shifted on the bed. “Do you think I told them what I suspect simply for the sake of upsetting them?” he asked, gimlet eyes connecting with Allura's. “I told you – all of you – because it will take all of us to put a stop to this. I know it was hard for them to hear, but if I'm right we don't have time for that.”

“What did you mean when you mentioned understanding the Lions' elemental affinities?” Allura asked, preferring to ease the conversation along before jumping to what they both truly wanted to discuss.

“That scan of the Green Lion gave us a lot more information than just technical specifications,” Skolark responded with a slight laugh. “Our scientists were completely taken aback; I think they expected to be dealing with something that was, however advanced, just a piece of technology.”

“They didn't expect the sentience.”

“Or the emotions,” he agreed. “But I think what surprised everyone the most was the bonding. The power and the strength of it. For the first couple of days they spent reviewing the information it was virtually impossible to tell where the Lion ended and the Paladin began.” He studied the princess for a long moment; she kept her gaze averted as best she could. “Are they all like that?”

Allura didn't answer right away, reluctant to share what she knew were rather intimate details of her crew, but then she decided that it was past time to stop trying to keep it all under wraps. The Galra obviously knew enough, and if Skolark genuinely expected them to all work together he would need to know.

“More or less,” was the reply. “It varies depending on the personality of the Paladin. You lucked out in having Ivy at your disposal; she's probably the closest to her Paladin out of all of the current generation.” She finally met the Galra's eyes. “I assume that one other thing you learned is the interconnecting bonds between all of the Lions and Paladins.” When Skolark didn't reply Allura just nodded to herself. “And that was how you learned about Earth.”

“Yes. Images of that planet are such prominent features in the memories of all of the Paladins, so the Lions carry those images as well. And because of the bonds they all share all of that was accessible through. . . Did you call the Green Lion Ivy?”

Allura grinned. “Yes. Pidge gave all of them names; most are just the Lion's element in a language from Earth, but she insisted that _her_ Lion deserved a special name. Even so it's still related to the forest element.” When Skolark looked puzzled the princess went on. “Ivy is a climbing plant that can be found on trees in pretty much every forest on Earth.” She took a deep breath before speaking again, hoping she didn't sound as worried as she felt. “Do you honestly believe that the Druids could be targeting Earth?”

“It's one way to strike at and demoralize the Paladins. Probably the best way.” He sat up straighter on the bed, making sure that their gazes connected to convey the strength of his feeling. “And demoralizing Team Voltron is the fastest way to sow chaos and collapse all of the negotiations for a permanent peace.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

The sparks that erupted out of the open panel on Shiro's arm certainly came as a surprise.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Pidge exclaimed, disconnecting the two wires. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, it's fine,” Shiro replied calmly, but his wide eyes betrayed his shock at what had happened. “That was. . . unexpected?”

“Stupid, more like,” Pidge said. “I should have known better than to make a circuit when I didn't know what it would do.”

Shiro laughed. “It'd be kind of hard to avoid things that you don't know what it'll do considering we don't know much about this arm in general.” He waited until Pidge looked up and met his eyes. “And it's bound to hurt at some point; I've accepted that, so please stop worrying about it.”

Pidge looked dubious, but nodded and went back to exploring the circuitry and mechanics of Shiro's arm. She was doing her best to figure out how the danged thing worked but couldn't help but think this was a job better suited to Hunk, who had more of an engineer's practical way of looking at the universe and everything in it. Her mind was better suited to unraveling the mysteries of computer coding and software, not dealing with hardware.

She felt a flick on her ear and jumped, eyes leaping to Shiro's grinning face. “You were frowning so hard I thought your eyebrows were about to meet in the middle,” he commented. “Whatever you were thinking about couldn't have been that bad!”

“I was just concentrating. This -” She waved a hand over his arm. “- isn't exactly my area of expertise, you know.” She sighed and moved a hand to shift some tools around on the workbench. “I'd feel more comfortable if Hunk was here helping with this. He's the engineer, not me.”

“What about your mom? Couldn't she help?”

Pidge shook her head, standing and moving to the windows to adjust the blinds. “She has her job, plus the teaching she does at the community college. I don't want to pile something else on.” She came back to the workbench and resumed her seat. “Let's stop with the inner workings right now,” she said, snapping the panel shut. “I'd like to take a closer look at the biological and cybernetic fusion.”

“What do you think you're going to find?”

“I don't know, but I'd be a piss poor scientist if I didn't explore every possibility, right?” Her fingers brushed across the skin where the metal joined his natural arm, and Shiro couldn't keep himself from flinching. “Does that hurt?” Pidge asked, a worried frown pulling her mouth out of shape.

He shook his head. “Not hurt, no. It's just. . . sensitive.”

“Really?” She stroked her hand across the spot again and he bit his lip to keep from moaning, forcing himself to meet her gaze.

Which was his undoing, because her eyes were wide and unguarded, her expression open, and the fullness of her lower lip was almost one temptation too many. And when she licked her lips he gave up any semblance of control. “Oh hell,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing her.

Pidge gave a surprised gasp when Shiro's lips met hers and would have pulled away if a part of her brain hadn't been crowing in triumph. _This is what you've wanted for years!_ , the voice in her head exulted, and in silent acknowledgment she simply gave herself over to the kiss, leaning in when Shiro's warm hand pressed against the nape of her neck. And before either of them was aware of it happening she was sitting on his lap and sliding her arms around his neck.

Shiro's entire mind became focused on one word: warm. The warm body in his lap and the warm lips pressed to his. He wrapped his right arm around Pidge's waist, pulling her just the right amount closer, while the fingers on her neck gently stroked the soft hair at her nape. His thumb moved across the delicate skin behind her ear, and with a sigh Pidge melted into him as her lips parted, her tongue shyly emerging to press against his lips.

He couldn't stop the moan that time, so he just let it escape and poured all of his feelings into the kiss. He pressed his tongue forward, lightly tapping against hers, and then twined the two of them together, reveling in the choked off sound of pleasure that Pidge made. She shifted on his lap, bringing her backside into closer contact with his groin as her breasts pushed against him. It was that feeling, and the sudden desire to feel her skin against his, that penetrated the fog in Shiro's brain, causing him to break the kiss.

“I. . . uh. . .”

Her eyes blinked slowly open, then Pidge seemed to be back to full awareness. A blotchy red flush stained her cheeks and she leaped off of his lap like a scalded cat. “Umm. . . Well. . .” The flush spread to her ears and was visible in the v-neck of her t-shirt as she twisted her hands together hard enough that Shiro almost expected the skin to come off.

Then she was gone, racing out of the room without a backward glance.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“So how much do you think they learned from scanning Ivy and how much did they already know from having Eldur in their possession?”

Allura sighed and leaned back against the sofa, forgetting decorum enough to put her feet up on the table. Everyone else in the lounge exchanged surprised glances except Coran, who simply looked appalled. “I don't think they learned anything from Eldur, no matter what Skolark claimed,” she finally replied to Hunk's question. “Their scans couldn't have penetrated the protective force field. The only thing they gained was a clue with regard to the fact that each Lion has an elemental affinity, and they got that from where they discovered Eldur.”

“Which was where?” Keith asked.

“Telura, a volcanic planet in the Photrix Sector. Specifically found inside one of the volcanoes.”

“Sounds hot.”

Even Hunk glared at Lance for that comment. “But, you know, it doesn't make a lot of sense that they didn't know anything. Zarkon was the original Black Paladin, after all. He had to have known things.”

“But he probably wasn't willing to share any of what he knew,” Coran put in. “And even if he was it wouldn't have been much of anything about the interlocking bonds between all of the Paladins and Lions. That wasn't something he ever regarded as important.”

“And based on what Skolark told me that was the thing that surprised the Druids the most,” Allura added, dropping her feet to the floor and sitting up straighter. “It was that bond, in all its intricacy, that brought them their awareness of, and interest in, Earth.” She cocked a sideways look at Lance. “It makes me glad that I didn't send you and Maji; that would have given them a little too much direct knowledge of your home planet.” She stood up and moved toward the door, Coran following behind her. “You should all get some rest tonight, since tomorrow is our day to cover the whole demilitarized zone.”

As soon as the two Alteans left Lance shot to his feet and started pacing. Hunk opened his mouth to speak but Keith waved him quiet, knowing that it was better to let Lance work through whatever was in his head in silence. When he needed to talk his friends and team mates would be there for him, but until that moment came they'd give him space.

Barely five minutes elapsed before the pacing stopped. “Do you. . .” Lance began, but his voice cracked and he had to clear his throat. “Do you think this might be trouble?” he asked. As vague as the comment was neither Keith nor Hunk needed to ask for clarification.

“Maybe,” Hunk replied. “But I don't think we should start jumping to conclusions, especially not worst-case-scenario type conclusions. I mean, we don't even know for sure if Earth has gained any notice; we only have Skolark's word for it, and considering how the Galra gained their knowledge -”

“Violating our trust by scanning Ivy,” Keith put in.

“Yes, exactly,” Hunk went on with a nod. “Considering all of that I just don't think we can take Skolark's word as gospel.”

Lance's gaze jumped back and forth between his two friends. “Aren't you guys worried? At all?”

“Of course we are, but for the time being worrying serves no purpose.” Keith got to his feet as he spoke. “We need to trust Pidge and Shiro; trust that if there is something to learn on Earth then they'll learn it. And frankly we don't have a whole lot of choice.”

But it meant a restless night's sleep for all three.

The next morning was an exercise in discomfort. Skolark and Borkas spent most of breakfast sharing the latest news of the Empire that had reached them through trustworthy sources, and every tidbit of information caused Allura's frown to deepen.

“You should probably return home sooner rather than later,” she said when Skolark asked her opinion. “If all of these rumors are true it'll be detrimental to our negotiations if you stay here any longer.”

The Council President nodded. “I had hoped that some of the factions might have weakened each other with in-fighting, but the fact that they're more inclined now to unite is worrisome, to say the least.”

Keith, Lance, and Hunk all exchanged looks. “Do you think the Druids are influencing people's behavior like they did during that rebellion?” Lance queried, speaking the thought that was in all of their minds.

Skolark deferred to Borkas, who shrugged. “Without a way to test for that all we can do is rely on word of mouth, but I'd say it's likely. I can't imagine the Blade of Marmora cooperating with some of those groups otherwise.”

“The Blade of Marmora?”

Borkas nodded. “They're a group of warriors that had long been in opposition to Zarkon and only came out of the shadows after his death. The fact that they are now, apparently, allying themselves with factions that have different aims is . . . well, odd, to say the least.”

“Could they be looking to take advantage of the chaos that other groups have sown?” Allura asked, looking thoughtful.

Skolark shook his head with a grimace. “I wouldn't have thought so. They have a reputation for being almost ridiculously straightforward, despite their covert origins. If they had an issue with the way the government has operated since Zarkon's death they would have brought it out into the open so the matter could be discussed and a solution arrived at.”

“They're more military than political,” Borkas added. “And definitely not diplomatic. The kind of maneuvering that is essential to survive as one of many factions would be anathema to Kolivan, their leader.”

“So basically the fact that this group is even suspected of involving themselves with factional infighting should be regarded as a red flag,” Keith commented.

Borkas nodded. “Like I said I can't imagine them working with the others without some sort of undue influence.”

“Do you think you can convince this Kolivan to come here and speak to us?” Allura asked, eyes locked with Skolark's. “If we can get him and his comrades away from the Druids and whatever havoc they are causing would they be useful allies?”

Skolark looked dubious. “I would not want to answer for another man, but I believe it would be worth the attempt.”

“They would be formidable allies,” Borkas put in. “The Blade of Marmora was instrumental in controlling the situation after the rebellion five years ago.” He exchanged a glance with Skolark. “We really should head home before the situation deteriorates any further.”

Allura rose decisively to her feet, followed by Keith, Lance, and Hunk. “We've been able to synthesize an antidote for what was poisoning you,” she said, nodding to Hunk to bring the phial and hand it to the medic. “It may not work perfectly, but three drops mixed with water every night should go a long way toward counteracting the poison's effects.” She nodded to her Paladins as she left the room.

Keith looked uncomfortable with suddenly being placed in the sort of diplomatic situation he hated and found himself feeling a certain degree of sympathy for the members of the Blade of Marmora, all soldiers more than statesmen. But he still shook hands with both Skolark and Borkas, wishing them a safe journey back to their home planet. “We'd see you off but unfortunately we have full patrol duty today,” he added, gesturing to Hunk and Lance.

The Blue and Yellow Paladins also made their farewells, and then the awkward moment was over and the three of them left the room to make their way to their Lions. They were halfway to the control room before anyone spoke.

“Do you think this Blade of Marmora can help? Will help?” Lance asked, nervously shifting his helmet from under one arm to the other.

Neither Hunk nor Keith answered, but all three were thinking the same thing. _Who knew?_

****~**~**~**~**~****

Pidge managed to avoid Shiro for a full day after what she was mentally calling _The Incident_ , and in the relatively small confines of the Holt house that took some doing. If she had been less rattled by _The Incident_ she would have realized that he was just as assiduously avoiding her, but under the circumstances her brain was hardly functioning at peak efficiency. It was no wonder that she collided with her brother in the kitchen doorway after breakfast.

Matt, being Matt, knew that something was up and wasn't likely to let it go. He was too close to Shiro and too protective of his sister to just ignore the tension, so in his normal blundering fashion he addressed the subject once he had his captive audience of one. “What the hell, Katie?” he barked out once they were steady on their feet after the collision. What's going on with you and Takashi? Don't think for one minute I haven't noticed the pair of you slacking off on the quintessence search!”

Pidge bristled, ready to erupt in angry exclamations at her brother, but then she deflated, eyes dropping from Matt's face to the floor. He was right; she was neglecting all of the work that she was Earth to accomplish and offending people that mattered to her into the bargain. She lifted her gaze, tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. “I'm sorry, Matt. I know I'm -”

“Wait, what?!” Matt exclaimed, the shocked expression on his face morphing into a grin. “My stubborn little sister actually apologized?” He crossed the room to look out the window. “Hmm, I don't see any pigs flying.”

Against her will Pidge felt laughter bubble in her chest and escape out of her mouth. She should have known if there was any one person in the universe that could make her feel even a little better it would be Matt. “Yeah, yeah,” she rejoined with a sly smile. “Enjoy this feeling while it lasts, because it'll be another twenty years before I ever apologize to you again.” They each mock-glared at the other for a long moment, then Pidge threw her arms around her brother's neck and hugged hum tight. “Thanks,” was all she said.

“Matt? Katie?” Sam Holt's voice echoed through the kitchen, startling both of them. Pidge grabbed the data screen that was linked to their father's communication system and activated it, waiting as the image resolved into Sam and Shiro, faces wreathed in identical grins.

“Dad? What's up?”

“You both need to get here, as quick as you can.” The pair on the other end of the call shared a look of triumph. “We've found something.”


	13. Confrontation

“So what do you guys think?”

“Are we seriously having this conversation now? Over the com system that anyone at the Castle can hear?” Hunk's voice was scornful.

“Please,” Lance scoffed. “Give me a little credit, would you? I disconnected the system from the Castle, so it's just the three of us.”

“And what, exactly, are we supposed to discuss that you don't want Allura and Coran to know about?” Keith managed to sound both dismissive and curious at the same time.

“I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you do know what I think we should talk about, Mullet, and just get on with it,” Lance replied with a chuckle. “Seriously, though, aren't you two worried about what Borkas and Skolark told us? I mean, if the Druids are interested in Earth -”

Keith's sigh was loud enough to hear over their communicators. “We don't know that they are. It's nothing but speculation.”

“Are you willing to take that chance?” Hunk's quiet question caught both of the others off guard. “Because I'm not.”

“Neither am I,” Lance added. “We've spent years protecting every other planet in the universe, and I think now is the time to focus on our own. To focus on our families instead of everyone else's.”

An exasperated grunt came from Keith. “Please don't make me repeat myself,” he all but groaned. “We. Don't. Know. Anything. For. Sure. And I am not willing to go off half-cocked on rampant speculation, half-baked facts, and my own unreasonable emotions.”

“You have emotions?”

“Lance,” Hunk reprimanded his long-time friend. There was an uncomfortable silence before the Yellow Paladin continued. “Okay, look, here's the thing. Keith's right in emphasizing how much we don't actually know -”

“Tha -”

“ - but Lance and I are also correct in saying we shouldn't risk it,” Hunk went on, voice overriding Keith's attempted rejoinder. “Now the only remaining question is what do you propose we do about it?”

“Do?”

“You don't have a plan?” Keith asked with a laugh. “You always have a plan, Lance. Usually something reckless and stupid, but at least it's a plan.”

“Yeah, well, there's a difference between what I want to do and what I propose to do,” the Blue Paladin responded, snorting. “I _want_ to go to Earth to figure out what's going on, and protect my family if it comes to a fight. I _propose_ that all three of us go.”

The silence that followed had a sound of its own, loud in all three helmets, until Keith broke it. “Reckless and stupid,” he muttered.

'WHAT?!” Hunk's shout reverberated through the com system. “Man, I've always known you were a little crazy and over the top, but this really takes the biscuit! Just. . . I. . .” His voice stuttered to a stop and his companions could almost hear his shrug. “Yeah, I got nothing. Keith?”

There was no response for the longest time, and Lance found himself reaching across the Paladin bond simply to make sure Keith was still alive. In the back of his mind Maji was grumbling a little but it was so muted that he couldn't suss out what was bothering him, not without directing his attention away from the more important conversation. “Keith?” he called, hesitant.

“Right, so for the time being I'm going to ignore the logistical issues of how we're supposed to get to Earth without letting Allura and Coran in on this idea,” the Red Paladin finally spoke. “I'm simply going to go back to a point that has already been made, and remind you that Shiro and Pidge are at home, on Earth, right now. Our best course of action would be to share what little information we have with them and see what they, along with Matt and Sam, can discover. If – and I still think it's a damned big IF – the Druids are doing anything to mess around on Earth they have a better chance of figuring it out than we do.”

“Sounds like a more reasonable plan to me,” Hunk said. “No offense, buddy.”

Lance laughed. “None taken. I should have had a little more faith in the two of you, especially you, Keith. Thank you for at least taking this seriously, no matter what misgivings you have.”

“Hngh,” came the grunted response, clearly conveying some of Keith's embarrassment at the praise. “There's just one thing I want to make sure of before we do _any_ thing.”

“What's that?”

“That the ULF transmitter in Lupa is completely independent of the Castle so Allura doesn't get any clue about what we're doing. I may be as reckless as Lance at times, but I'm certainly not stupid.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“So what did you find that was so important we all had to meet in this tiny, cramped, little office?” Pidge questioned her father, trying to shift her shoulders to minimize contact with the others. Not that she was excessively uncomfortable with the situation; she had very carefully maneuvered herself so that her brother and her father were a buffer between her and Shiro. But she was hyper-aware of his presence in the room, almost like electricity making the fine hairs at the nape of her neck stand on end. She could feel Matt's eyes on her, sense his need to ask questions, even though this wasn't the time. She shifted again, doing her best to present her back to the two younger men and focus her attention on her father. “Dad?”

“Mmmm,” was all the reply that came from Sam Holt. He was concentrating, the heads-up display for his computer full of a graph that looked vaguely familiar to Pidge. When he entered a new command the image changed; a series of colored lines of varying lengths, spread across the screen and a nearly incomprehensible jumble of numbers and letters across the bottom.

“Right,” Sam exclaimed, clapping his hands once and startling the others in the room. “So here's what we have. One – and only one - of the quintessence detectors reacted to something in the barracks, but we -” he gestured between himself and Shiro “- thought it was probably some sort of anomaly so we went on with the search. But when we went back an hour later both detectors had the same reaction.”

“We went to Commander Iverson to discover who's room it was and then questioned the cadet,” Shiro continued the explanation. “But she's not aware of anything that could have caused a problem.” His mouth twisted into something of a grimace. “She's not aware of much of anything, to be honest. How she got accepted into the Garrison program is beyond me.”

Sam laughed. “Frankly I was wondering the same thing, but her ignorance gave me an idea for a way to – hopefully – refine the quintessence detectors and make our job a little easier. I attached each of them in turn to the mass spectrometer in my lab so we could get a proper baseline for what quintessence looks like, at least in elemental terms that we can relate to. The only problem is -”

“You're not exactly sure that what the detectors picked up today was, in fact, quintessence,” Pidge jumped in, feeling a frisson of excitement chase up her spine. If this plan of her father's worked. . . “You need to analyze something that we know was made with quintessence to serve as a control sample; if we get a spectrometer reading that we know is accurate we'll be able to skip a couple of steps in this tedious search.”

“That's all well and good, the both of you,” Matt commented, glancing between his father and his sister. “But how, exactly are you going to get a control sample on Earth, a planet that as far as we know has never been exposed to the kind of refined quintessence we're talking about?”

“Brother dear, getting that control sample will be the easiest part of this entire operation,” she replied, leaning around Matt to grin at Shiro.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Are you sure you can do this?” Shiro asked, looking worriedly at where his prosthetic arm rested on the table.

“Please,” Pidge replied, rolling her eyes. “This'll be the easiest thing I've done since we arrived on Earth.”

“Aren't you the person who was recently complaining that Hunk was better suited to working with the hardware?”

“Well, yes,” she replied as a flush stole up her cheeks. “But this isn't exactly 'working'. I'm just going to open this panel and do a scan of the innards of your arm.” She turned away and looked across the lab. “Are you about ready, Dad?”

“Give me a minute,” Sam Holt responded, not even looking in their direction. “I just want to double-check the connection and make sure everything is calibrated. You two just continue on as normal for a bit, all right?”

Pidge almost choked on the need to keep down the unseemly giggle that rose in her throat. Normal? What the hell was normal between her and Shiro anymore? It wasn't like she could just wave a magic wand and forget that they had -

“Katie.”

She sighed and closed her eyes, knowing what that tone of voice meant. “Can we not talk about this right now, please?” she whispered, quickly glancing over her shoulder to make sure her father was still ignoring them. “I know that we need to talk about it, but this really isn't the best time.”

“Will it ever be a good time?” Shiro asked, speaking just as quietly. “We're never going to feel perfectly comfortable with the subject but we can't exactly change what happened.”

Pidge almost wanted to cry. She knew a way that they could grow more comfortable with what happened – by repeating the experience for the rest of their lives – but she didn't think Shiro's thoughts were running on the same track. Plus they were working, trying to get something important done, and the tangled threads of their personal lives really had no place in the current situation. She looked up and met his eyes briefly. “We need to get this job done, Shiro. After this. . . well, then we'll think about things that need to be discussed. Agreed?”

“Okay, that's the rest of it!” Sam called out from the other side of the lab. “Everything's all ready to go, Katie, so you can start whenever you want.”

“Umm, thanks -” Pidge had to cough to clear the lump in her throat. “Thanks Dad.” She held up the quintessence detector and glanced at Shiro with one eyebrow raised. “Ready?”

“As I'll ever be.”

The detector hummed to life as Pidge scanned the length of the prosthetic arm, with special attention paid to the joint between metal and flesh. She could hear a series of clicks and rattles as the connection between machines activated, then a _whir_ as the mass spectrometer began to process the data it was receiving. Sam looked over all of the equipment, making sure everything was operating correctly, before nodding to his daughter to start the last part of the process. She turned the detector to the open panel in Shiro's arm, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze as she did.

The wiring and other mechanisms inside the arm immediately began to glow with the eerie purple light more commonly seen when it was activated during a fight. Shiro's mouth twisted in a grimace of pain as the light intensified, metallic fingers twitching. “Are you okay?” Pidge asked, keeping an eye on the detectors gauge.

“Ugh,” was the unintelligible reply. The hand started to contract into a fist. “It hurts,” Shiro ground out between his gritted teeth. “But not like I'm used to; more like a burn.”

“Can you handle it a little longer?” He nodded, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he clenched his mouth shut that much tighter, and Pidge turned her head towards her father. “Dad?”

“Just a little bit more.”

A pained grunt escaped Shiro's mouth and when Pidge laid a hand on the prosthetic she could feel the heat radiating from it. “Dad!” she exclaimed “I don't think he can take much more!”

“Just a bit, please, Shiro,” Sam replied. “If this works. . .” His voice trailed off as the spectrometer gave a series of high-pitched beeps before it's display lit up with the distinctive vertical lines that represented component elements. Okay, it's done,” he called out.

Pidge all but threw the quintessence detector to get it away from Shiro's arm as quickly as possible, not caring if it broke or not. “Are you all right?” she asked, speaking loud enough to be heard over his strained breathing. “Shiro?”

He dropped his head. “Give. . . Give me a minute.”

She sat back in her chair, giving him space, but keeping a close eye on things as Shiro worked to get himself back under control. When his breathing was calm enough he looked up and met Pidge's concerned stare. “I'm okay,” he gasped out. “It's just. . .” He shook his head and weakly laughed. “I wasn't expecting that.”

Pidge reached out to take his hand and jerked back from the intense heat still coming from the metal. “I'll, uh, go get my regular tools and give you a thorough once over. I want to make sure nothing's changed as a result of this little experiment.” She stood up to leave the room and collect what she needed but a new beeping sound, completely different in pitch and tone to the spectrometer, began to echo through the room. “Dad, is there a problem?” she asked, feeling concern surge to life in her chest.

Sam quickly checked over all of his equipment. “No, not a thing wrong on my end.” He glanced toward Shiro and his daughter. “I have no idea what that is.”

“Ummm, Pidge?” She turned to see a tiny smile flirting with the corner of Shiro's mouth. “I think it's coming from your pocket.”

It was, and Pidge pulled out a miniature data screen that was flashing green in time with the beeping. “It's connected to Ivy's ULF receiver,” she explained, pressing a button on the screen. “We've got a message waiting.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“For the last time NO, I don't know anything! As soon as something happens I'll be letting you know, so stop harassing me!”

“Geez, Hunk, you don't need to bite my head off,” Lance whined.

“Apparently I do, because you won't stop being an obnoxious ass! Seriously, as soon as Pid -”

Keith cleared his throat loudly, cutting off the flow of words from Hunk's mouth just as Allura and Coran entered the control room. The three Paladins each scurried to their stations, avoiding each others' and the Alteans' eyes. Allura shot a glance at Keith, but he managed to avoid it by studiously checking all the data screens in front of him, although the pink flush spreading up his cheeks was impossible to hide.

Coran opened his mouth to comment, but Allura gave her head a quick, almost imperceptible shake. The pair moved to take up their own stations, choosing to ignore the odd tension that was growing in the room. “Do you have the reports from last night's sensor scans and the communication logs, Lance?” the princess asked, tone utterly normal and businesslike.

“Uh, ummm, yeah. Give me a sec.”

There were a few odd sounds from that direction, including the rustle of cloth as he fidgeted in his seat, that Allura studiously ignored, keeping her gaze focused forward. She heard hurried and garbled whispering between Keith and Lance, then Lance sighed in relief.

“Okay, got it!” he exclaimed, sounding much more (and falsely) cheerful than normal. “Overnight scans of the sector show no unusual activity. Communications logged from Galra patrols in the DMZ all normal, and. . . Oh, that's interesting.”

The change in the Blue Paladin's tone caught everyone's attention, and four pairs of eyes turned his way. “What's interesting?” Allura finally asked.

“There's a message in the log with a data signature I don't recognize,” Lance responded, brow furrowed as he studied his screens. “It's Galra, I can tell that much, but not anyone or anything we've had contact with before.”

“Play it on the main screen,” Allura ordered, turning back around to face the front of the room.

“It's not an audio or video message,” Lance explained as he worked the controls of his station. “It's written.” And the message in question appeared on the large screen at the front of the control room.

Coran walked away from his control board to get a closer look at it. “Is this all of it?” he asked, half turning towards Lance.

“That's it.”

“It looks like a set of coordinates,” Allura put in, studying the message. She swiped one hand across the panel in front of her and the holographic map of the cosmos exploded in the room around them. One area was highlighted in blue, the color flashing on and off, but with no planets visible. “Coran?”

“Mmmm, looks like an unknown system. No information available on planets, but it is centered on a giant blue star.” He was typing commands as he spoke, and the map shifted and zoomed in on the system. “And it looks like there are other cosmological dangers there as well.”

“Like what?” was Hunk's worried question.

“Oh, you know, just two black holes that exist in counterbalance to the giant blue star,” Coran replied, ignoring the shocked gasps of the three Paladins. “I imagine that's why this system hasn't been explored, or exploited, by the Galra Empire; nobody was willing to risk it.”

“Why do I get the feeling we're about to do just that?” Keith muttered to no one in particular.

“Is there anything else to the message, Lance?” Allura queried, moving closer to the Blue Paladin's station to look at the message directly on his screen.

“Just this,” he answered, adjusting the image on the main screen so that they could all see the symbol at the bottom. It looked like a jagged “S”, with the bottom curve elongated and pointed, like the blade of a knife.

No one reacted for a long moment, then Keith rose and walked slowly to the front of the room, staring up at the symbol that towered above him on the screen. He lifted one hand and traced the shape of the symbol. “Call me crazy but I think we've just received an invitation from the Blade of Marmora.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

It took them a day and a half to get to the coordinates specified. “I'd rather not wormhole,” Allura had responded when questioned. “It tends to attract a lot of attention and if the Blade of Marmora is as secretive as they appear to be it's probably best we keep a low profile.”

The light of the blue star was eerie, to say the least, an effect that was intensified the closer they got. Coran insisted that they not get too close, as the combined dangers of black holes and giant blue stars were only too obvious. He brought the Castle to a halt just beyond the area of gravitational effect and there they waited.

Not for long, though. Something scanned the entire ship and seemed to confirm their identities because another message came though, with instructions to follow a designated path that would bring them to an outpost that had long been held by the Blade of Marmora. Coran stayed behind while the others flew to the base in Eldur, Allura fidgeting the entire time.

“You wanted this meeting, remember?” Keith reminded her, none too gently. “You asked Skolark to do what he could to arrange something like this.”

“You agreed with me.”

“I did, because we need more allies. If factional in-fighting is the way to do business in the new Galra Empire than it's best that we join a faction, right? The whine of Eldur's reverse thrusters was loud as they touched down lightly on a landing pad. There was a brief pause and then the pad started to drop, an elevator carrying them down inside the base.

“I'll go out first,” Allura said when the elevator came to a stop. She glanced at the screen that was displaying the lion's view of the outside; two Galra, tall even by the standards of that race, were waiting. “You three follow at a respectful distance, but be on the alert.” She sighed. “I know I've been accepting of all of this secrecy but something about it doesn't sit right with me.”

When they arrived at the bottom of the ramp the Galra bowed and the broader of the two, with long, braided hair to the middle of his back, stepped forward. “Princess Allura, Paladins of Voltron, welcome to the headquarters of the Blade of Marmora.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “I am Kolivan, commander-in-chief, and this is Antok, my adjutant and second-in command.”

Allura acknowledged the greeting and introductions with a slight nod before gesturing Lance and Hunk to come forward and remove their helmets. “The Blue Paladin and the Yellow Paladin,” she said, laying a hand on their shoulders in turn. “And the temporary commander of the Voltron Force, the Red Paladin.”

Keith stepped forward and gave a jerky sort of half-bow before removing his helmet.

Kolivan and Antok both gaped at him for a moment before they each dropped down onto one knee. “Your Highness,” Kolivan intoned, eyes on the floor before him.

Allura's and Hunk's jaws fell open so abruptly it was almost audible. Lance's gaze jumped from Keith's face to the two Galra kneeling respectfully before him, eyes wide.

“Well, isn't that just a kick in the head.”


	14. Royalty

Matt glanced at the data screen in front of him, nose scrunched up. “So this is it?” he asked, looking up at his father and sister. “This what we are using as a 'control sample'?” He pointed at the tallest of the lines on the readout labeled “unknown element”. “Are we assuming that this is the elemental signature of quintessence?”

“Until we can figure out a better way to identify it, yes,” Pidge replied. She tapped a few keys on her console, pulling up the readings from what Shiro and Sam had found in the barracks and superimposing it on the control.

“They don't match,” Matt mused after a few moments. “Not even close. I mean not even within an acceptable statistical deviation.” He frowned and focused his attention on Pidge. “Why do you think that is?”

“I have a few theories,” Pidge responded, beginning to pace the confines of their father's lab. “One is that we're looking at the difference between refined and unrefined quintessence -”

“But which is which?”

“Hmmm, if I had to guess I'd say what came from Shiro's arm is the refined. But we don't know enough about that damned thing and how it got attached to him to ever know for sure.” She sighed and dropped into one of the chairs, pushing a hand through her hair. “The other possibility is, of course, that what Dad and Shiro found in that dorm room is not what we would consider quintessence at all.”

“But the detectors reacted to it,” Sam protested. “Why would they do that otherwise?”

“Again I'm just guessing, but. . . well, you two do know how we define quintessence, correct?”

Both Holt men nodded. “A life energy that links all living things in the universe,” Sam put in.

“ _Use the Force, Luke_ ,” Matt joked.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I imagine it's possible that there are things here on Earth that don't exactly meet that definition but that the detectors would recognize. Certain minerals that are unique to our planet certainly don't have 'life energy', but the detectors may be reacting to them as if they were refined quintessence.”

Matt groaned. “Well, shit! That just made our job that much harder! What the hell are we supposed to do if we can't tell the difference?”

“That's why we have the control sample, Matt,” Sam replied with a small smile. “We know that quintessence is a part of Shiro's arm, so we'll just assume anything that comes close to it on the spectrometer needs to be investigated further. Right, Katie?”

“That's a sound plan, for sure, but I think I just discovered something that may complicate things a bit.”

The bang of the door closing startled all three Holts and as one they turned to face the person who just spoke. Shiro carried a clipboard and a data screen, a slight frown furrowing his forehead. He passed the data screen to Pidge, who glanced at the clipboard and smirked. “You've been with Commander Iverson, haven't you?” she said with a laugh. “He's the only person I know that still uses those things.”

Shiro chuckled, tapping the clipboard with one finger. “Yeah, he definitely occupies a unique position in the 'old school'. But it was worth it to put up with some of his archaic ideas because I think I may have found -”

“Something that'll complicate things even more?” Matt parroted Shiro's own words back at him.

“It might do that, but then again it might clarify things a little more. “At Matt's look of disgust Shiro smiled. “That's the nature of uncertainty, you know.”

Matt pulled a face. “If you're going to get all mystical and zen on me I'll just get back to work,” he said, moving across the room to where his father was hunched over a data unit.

As soon as Matt was out of earshot Shiro slid close to Pidge and bent down so he could whisper in her ear. “I slipped out to Ivy early this morning and downloaded the ULF message. It's all set up to be played on that data screen.”

“Have you watched it?” she asked, glancing towards her father and brother..

He nodded. “You need to check it out as soon as possible. And -” he also looked toward where the two male Holts were in conversation. “If you want to watch it here maybe play it with the sound off and subtitles on. I'd rather not have them know what's going on just yet.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Your. . . Your Highness?” Allura managed to stammer out, looking from Kolivan on his knees to Keith, still awkwardly holding his helmet and looking more shocked than anyone else in the room. Her eyes narrowed at him and he flushed a bright red.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I have no idea what this is about!”

Kolivan rose slowly to his feet, eyes still trained on the Red Paladin. “You don't know,” he said without a hint of emotion in his voice. Then he turned to Allura. “I believe we have a great many things to discuss,” he addressed her, gesturing for all the members of the Voltron Force to follow him. Antok brought up the rear of the procession, a silent, and somewhat ominous, presence.”

“You seriously don't have a clue why he called you 'Your Highness'?” Lance whispered after they started walking. “Seriously?”

“Lance,” Hunk admonished.

“Why do you seem so surprised?” Keith responded, not bothering to lower his voice. “You know that I have absolutely zero knowledge of my mother and her family. All I've ever had of her was this damned knife.” He pressed a hand to the small of his back where his long bladed knife was nestled in a sheath specially made to attach to his armor.

Kolivan stopped walking and turned to face the Paladins so abruptly that all three took a step back. “May I see this knife?” he asked.

Keith looked at Allura out of the corner of his eye and when she nodded he slid the knife out of the sheath and passed it to the Galra. Kolivan studied the blade for a long moment, running one finger along the raised ridge at the center. Then he laid a hand on the leather wrapped hilt. “Has it always been like this?”

“As long as I've had it,” was Keith's response

“May I?” When Keith nodded Kolivan began unwrapping the leather strips, and when the last piece fell away they all sucked in a breath. At the crossing of the hilt and guard was a patch of shiny blue metal, and set in it was a jagged, elongated 'S', just like what had been on the first message from the Blade of Marmora.

Allura stared at the knife, then lifted her eyes to meet Keith's surprised gaze. “You didn't know?”

He shook his head, unable to tear his eyes away from the now revealed knife, even when Kolivan pressed it back into his hands.

“Come,” he said, turning around to resume the walk. “I'll tell you everything.

Once they were all settled in chairs Kolivan folded his hands together on top of the table and drew in a breath. “I _am_ going to tell you everything, but before I begin you need to understand that there are some parts of this story that are not general knowledge, even within the Empire. Making certain facts public could have a destabilizing effect on the entire situation.” His mouth twisted in a grimace. “Even worse than what we're all dealing with right now. So nothing we discuss on this base can leave this spot.”

Everyone nodded their agreement, Lance perhaps a little too eagerly. It was so obvious that even the two Galra noticed, and something that might have been a smile crossed Kolivan's stoic face. “Well, I suppose I should start with the main fact that is not allowed to leave this room.” He took a deep breath. “Zarkon was not a true Galra.” Multiple gasps followed that announcement and Kolivan held up a hand. “He came from a closely related planet, but that was it.” He glanced at Allura, who was biting her lower lip in a frown. “Did you know?”

She shook her head. “I had some suspicions, but that was it. I'm fairly certain my father knew, though, going back to the time when Zarkon was the Black Paladin. It might explain some of his misgivings when the Empire first started it's expansion under Zarkon's rule.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Just one damned minute!” Hunk exclaimed, looking between the Princess and the Blade of Marmora captain. “If Zarkon wasn't a 'true Galra' how the heck did he ever become king, and eventually emperor?”

Kolivan sighed deeply. “At the time it all happened there was a faction -”

“Factions. Again,” Lance deadpanned and apologized softly when Allura glared at him.

“At the time there were certain people – high ranking military officers and civil servants mostly – who believed that the heir to the throne was too weak to effectively lead,” Kolivan went on, ignoring the by-play. “There was a movement gaining momentum then that talked a great deal about how strength meant power, and that if the Galra were ever going to be taken seriously we needed to wield more power on the inter-planetary stage.”

“And the heir to the throne believed differently?” Allura asked.

“He did. He – frequently and loudly – espoused the idea that strength came from justice: from a fair, equitable, and civil society. He vehemently disagreed with the powers-that-be that were constantly arguing in favor of a larger military, as well as calls to conquer and colonize other planets. The Council President at the time was a weak-willed, easily manipulated individual named Tariz, and he accepted the argument that the crown prince had, in their words, been corrupted by his mother's influence. His mother who was a member of our order. Then he got married without consulting the Council, and his wife was another Blade.” He turned to look Keith directly in the eye. “This man I'm talking about? The heir to the throne over ten thousand years ago? He was your maternal grandfather.”

Keith's eyes widened and for the first time since they had all sat down he looked interested. “Tell me more.”

“Well, all the issues I already told you about were only a part of why some factions turned against him,” Kolivan went on. “His truly unforgivable sins were his belief that expanding the empire would bring disaster in it's wake and the fact that his only child was a daughter.” Allura made a noise like an angry cat and Kolivan turned to her. “I agree; it was the most ridiculous reason given at the time of his ouster. But in the same way that people believed that strength meant power they also believed that it could only be achieved with men in charge. It's an attitude that has, unfortunately, carried over all these centuries.”

“What happened after all that? Once Zarkon was made king?” Keith asked. His hands were resting on the table, clenched so tightly together that his knuckles were white.

“Nearly three hundred years of war happened,” Allura replied, face tight with anger. “Zarkon broke every promise he had made and betrayed every oath he had sworn. And, as you know, by the end of it all King Alfor was dead and Altea – and with it all opposition to the Galra – was destroyed.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. The only good thing about any of it was the separation of the Li - oh _quiznack_!”

“What did you just think of?” Lance broke in, leaning across the table.

“Not thought of,” Allura replied. “More like half-remembered. We had lost two Paladins when Zarkon betrayed us – the Blue Paladin had gone with him – so Voltron was functioning without properly bonded Paladins. I think that was part of the reason why my father made the decision he did.”

“To separate the Lions,” Hunk put in, getting a nod from the Princess in return.

“Yes, exactly. I remember him talking to Coran one evening, when we knew the ring was tightening around us, that it was probably for the best to separate the Lions and wait on a new generation of Paladins.” She shook her head. “But that's all just background. I remember that the person who took over as Maji's pilot at the time was a young Galra woman named K'lin. She had more or less simply appeared on our doorstep one day, claiming to be a fugitive from the Imperial government and a skilled pilot, and my father was so desperate for help that he put her in one of the Lions. At least at the time I thought it was desperation, but they way he used to speak to her – soft, kind, almost deferential. . .” Her voice trailed off and she looked at Kolivan. “She was your lost princess, wasn't she?”

The Galra nodded. “She was.” His voice almost broke on the words. “Not just an Imperial princess, but _our_ princess. She was part of the Blade of Marmora from birth, but we couldn't help her when everything fell apart; we'd already been driven underground and stripped of whatever influence we previously had.”

No one spoke for a long moment, letting the reality of just how damaged the universe had been by Zarkon sink in. The first one to open his mouth was, to no one's surprise, Lance.

“But how did Maji get on Earth?” he asked. “And this K'lin, who was presumably Keith's mother.”

Keith's head jerked up and he looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each of his companion one at a time. When he met Kolivan's gaze the other man simply nodded before deferring to Allura, who looked like the last thing she wanted to do was tell the rest of the story.

“My father,” she began, voice husky with emotion “gave each of the Paladins the option of going with their Lion into what amounted to exile or fending for themselves. The only one who chose to to stay with her Lion was K'lin. Thinking about it now I'm sure it was because she knew that for her the other option meant certain death as soon as Zarkon's forces caught up with her.”

“How did they all end up where they were found?” was Hunk's query.

“Left to their own devices the Lions will always seek out a place where they can feel closest to their element. That's why Ivy was in the middle of a forest, Lupa in a cave deep underground, and Eldur inside a volcano. Maji would have been naturally inclined to seek out the closest planet with water as soon as he – well, she at that time - exited the wormhole. All things considered Earth would have been the obvious choice.”

“He wasn't in water when we found him, though,” Lance mused.

“Ten thousand years ago he would have been,” Keith said, and everyone looked at him. “That whole area, where the Garrison and the ravine where we found Maji are, is a dry, prehistoric lake bed.” He stared at Allura. “But how did my. . . mother survive all that time?”

“I can't be absolutely sure, but once Maji powered down everything except the force field she would have entered into a sort of stasis; a physical state that would have been shared with K'lin through their bond.” She stretched a hand toward Keith, almost as if to take one of his. “I imagine that your father must have had many of the qualities of a Blue Paladin, if Maji dropped the force field and let him in. But that part of the story is something we'll probably never know, at least not for sure.”

“There's something that I'd like to know,” Lance spoke up then, bringing all of the attention back to him.

Keith bristled. “If you've got some issue with me and Maji -”

Lance held up a hand to stop the words. “It's nothing like that.” He grinned a little. “Although it is nice to know why he reached out to you first. No, what I'm trying to figure out is how, if you were born and raised on Earth, these guys -” He waved a hand toward Kolivan and Antok. “ - recognized you. Your pretty eyes? The mullet? Some sort of super-secret Blade of Marmora handshake?”

“Lance.” Hunk sounded thoroughly tired and a little exasperated.

Kolivan looked confused by the exchange, but Antok laughed out loud. It was the first sound that any of them had heard from the stern-faced Galra since they had exited Eldur, and everyone turned to him in surprise. He didn't speak, though, just gave his head a shake and let the smile linger a little longer on his lips.

“There is a. . . genetic component to members of the true royal lineage,” Kolivan explained, his purple skin darkening the slightest bit with an embarrassed flush. “It creates a distinctive scent, one that is enhanced by the rituals that make a member of the Blade of Marmora.” He looked directly at Keith. “You, with that combination from three different women, are unmistakable.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Keith all but shouted.

“It means you stink,” Lance gleefully answered him. “But in a way that apparently makes it easy for you to be known.”

They all heard an angry sound and then Allura pushed herself to her feet, hands slapping the tabletop as she did. They all looked at her, shocked. “He knew,” she growled, face tight with anger. “That bastard Skolark. He _quiznacking_ knew.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“So you asked Commander Iverson to show you the records of who occupied that dorm room going back ten years,” Sam said, glancing at the list on the clipboard as he spoke. “And I assume you found something significant?”

Shiro nodded, glancing at Pidge. “Six years ago that dorm room was Keith's.”

Her eyes widened. “And you think whatever it was that the quintessence detector picked up on has to do with him?”

“It seems like a reasonable assumption,” Matt spoke up. “Based on what you all have told Dad and I about finding that first Lion, there must be something about Keith; something that attracts or connects to alien technology.” He shrugged and smiled, a little crookedly. “Who knows what that might be.”

No one replied to that last comment and they all went back to focusing on their own tasks. But as soon as Matt and Sam's attention was on something else Shiro grabbed Pidge by the wrist and gently tugged her out the door, walking quickly to a secluded section of hallway. “Check the message now,” he said when she looked at him, one eyebrow cocked in a question.

Pidge nodded and pulled the data unit out of her pocket. She started up the message, Hunk's image slightly distorted on the small screen.

_Hey guys, just a quick message to check in and see how things are going!_

He sounded a little too cheerful, something that Pidge knew usually signaled his mind was on something important. Hunk's next words confirmed that opinion.

_Okay, so it's not really just a check in. We've got some new information; it seems that when Pidge took Ivy to the Galra planet to bring Shiro back to us the jerks scanned her physical body as well as her operating systems and. . . well, the bottom line is they somehow managed to connect to the bond we all share and they gained some knowledge of Earth that none of us wanted them to have. And because of a lot of the factional in-fighting going on in their government right now we suspect that what's left of the Druids have been given access to that information. And I know you already have enough to do, but if you could keep your eyes open for any signs that that's what's what we'd appreciate it._

An indistinct voice was heard on the message.

_Okay, fine! Keith says I'm not supposed to count him in that appreciation since he's not exactly fully committed to this course of action. But he's not stopping us, so I count that as a win._

More half-heard mutterings in the background.

_Oh, and we're kind of, sort of, doing this behind Allura's back, so if you do need to tell us anything about this particular issue make sure your message goes to Lupa, and only Lupa. Take care, and we miss -_

The message abruptly cut off at that point, having reached the limit of what the ULF was capable of with video and sound. Pidge took a long moment to shut down the data unit and stow it back in her pocket before facing Shiro. “Do you think it's true?” she whispered, voice shaking ever so slightly.

Despite the awkwardness between them Shiro didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her and pull her in close to him. “We'll find out,” he softly answered her, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Whatever is going on we'll find out together.”


	15. Resolution

They debated for what felt like hours about whether or not to return to Arus. Allura was angry enough that she would have flown the Castle right to the Galra system, probably demanding Skolark's head the entire time. Coran managed to get her calmed down (Hunk suspected a fair amount of Nunvil was involved) so when they all gathered in the lounge area with the Blade of Marmora members she was much more reasonable and willing to discuss the issue.

“Here's a question that needs to be answered,” Keith didn't hesitate to speak up once they were all settled. “Assuming Allura's right that Skolark must know that I'm -”

“The Galra equivalent of Anastasia.”

“Lance!” Allura, Hunk, and Coran all barked out.

Keith glared at the Blue Paladin. “Can't you, just this once, take something seriously that is supposed to be – you know – SERIOUS?! Is that too much to ask? I mean this whole thing is just -” He bit off his words and turned away, shoving a hand through his hair.

“I think what Keith wants to know is what is it Skolark is expecting out of him?” Coran put in, receiving a grateful nod from the Red Paladin. “Assuming he knows that Keith is probably the only surviving member of the true Galra royal family.”

“He must know the truth,” Kolivan mused. “Even without the extra military training to heighten his sense of smell he had to have picked up on the scent the first time he was ever near Keith. It can't be mistaken for anything else.”

Hunk was biting his lip, clearly wanting to speak but worried about what he had to say. Allura, who knew that Hunk's instincts were rarely off base, gave him a nod.

“Okay, somebody has to ask the obvious question here,” he said, glancing around the room at all of his companions. “If all of this stuff with the crown prince and his daughter occurred ten thousand years ago how the heck does any Galra alive today know what a member of the royal family is supposed to smell like? I know Zarkon lived a ridiculously long time, but I imagine that isn't quite normal.”

“It's not,” Kolivan confirmed. “The Druids used artificial means to extend his life beyond expectations.”

“Right, so if the normal Galra lifespan isn't ten thousand years or more how the heck do you guys know? K'lin disappeared to our home planet millenia ago, and from a few things you said I figured her father – Keith's grandfather – had been killed sometime after Zarkon assumed power. So how is this possible?”

Kolivan exchanged a glance with Antok, who shrugged once. It seemed to be the deciding factor, though, in Kolivan's decision to tell them the rest. “It's partially a question of evolutionary memory,” he began. “Something we're programmed to recognize from thousands of years of evolution. And in our case it's also, as I said, a part of the initiations into the Blade, which make fundamental changes to the body chemistry, changes that are then passed on to children. But there's also -”

“There is one survivor of the old royal family.”

Antok's harsh voice surprised everyone, causing wide eyes and dumbfounded expressions. He didn't seem to notice at all as he continued with what he was saying. “The crown prince had a younger sister. A beautiful girl who was forced into marriage with. . .” He sighed, almost wistfully, the sound strange coming from such an imposing person.

“Who?” Keith snapped. “Who was she forced to marry?”

Kolivan looked like he would rather do anything than answer that question, but now that it was out and in the air it couldn't be avoided. “Zarkon,” he muttered, anger in his voice. “She was forced to marry Zarkon.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“So let me just connect these wires and we'll see what happens,” Pidge said as she manipulated the tiny tools inside the cramped space of Shiro's arm. When she was done the hand activated, but was no longer glowing with the malevolent purple light they had come to regard as normal. It was the much softer, almost violet color that he associated with Sora and their bond.

“How's that?” Pidge questioned, looking up to meet his eyes. “Any pain?”

Shiro flexed his fingers, pulling them into a fist and then releasing it. The color shifted and moved as he did but it didn't change. “It actually feels good,” he finally replied. “The best I think it's ever been.”

Pidge grinned. “I'm glad; it means I did something right. We may have to rig some sort of fighting simulator, though, to make sure you can still use it as a weapon.” She noticed the look on his face. “I know you don't like that, but we have to take it into account.”

“Have I ever told you how much I hate it when you're right?”

“You, personally, never have but at last count Lance has done so at least three hundred and fifty-six times.” Her smile turned sly. “I've kept track.”

“You would,” Shiro laughed, basking in the unshakable feeling of _rightness_ between the pair of them. This – the back and forth banter in a professional setting – was right; it was comfortable. The awkwardness that had settled between them after the – he couldn't say the word, even in his own head – had bothered him more than he'd let on, but he really hadn't known how to address the issue. But even with the new equilibrium between them now it still needed to be dealt with.

“Katie.”

Pidge looked up, surprised at the use of her proper name which hadn't come out of Shiro's mouth in what felt like weeks. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Why do I get the feeling we're about to have an uncomfortable conversation?”

“It doesn't have to be uncomfortable,” Shiro began. “It doesn't even have to be a conversation if you simply accept my apology.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you need to apologize for?”

“Well, that. . . incident the other day.” A flush climbed his face, highlighting the scar across the bridge of his nose.

“You mean the kiss?” Pidge asked, doing her best to keep the laughter contained. “You don't really need to apologize for that.”

Shiro shook his head. “Maybe not for the kiss itself, but for behaving like an ass afterward. . .”

Pidge bent her head, focusing on his arm. She double-checked the connected wires, waiting until the color faded before closing the access panel and looking up to meet Shiro's grey eyes. “I think we've both been behaving like asses the last couple of days,” she said, squirming slightly in her chair. The only way out of this was to clear the air. “Look, Shiro, I'm not going to claim I didn't enjoy the kiss or that it made me uncomfortable or anything idiotic like that. In the interests of full honesty I'll tell you that I'd love for it to happen again, but _not_ at the expense of our friendship or working relationship.”

“You. . . You want to kiss again?” Shiro looked slightly dumbfounded and Pidge had to laugh. She leaned in close, sliding a hand round the back of his neck as she did so.

“Very much so,” she whispered before bringing their lips together.

A long moment later they parted, lips separating with a soft smack and foreheads pressed together.

“We should definitely do that again,” Shiro sighed, warm breath skittering across Pidge's face. He nuzzled his nose against her cheek. “As often as possible.”

She pulled back, surprised. “Are you sure?”

His hands came up to cup her cheeks, the warmth of his skin a contrast to the cool metal of his right hand. “Pidge.” He grinned briefly. “Katie. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. You were always special, even as a kid, and you've grown up into a woman that any man would be proud to have at his side. You've grown into a woman that I _want_ to have at my side, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise.”

“You. . . You want me?”

“Absolutely.” A beat of silence. “If you'll have me.”

“Of course I will!” Pidge cried out, throwing her arms around Shiro's neck. “Don't be an idiot.” That last statement came out slightly muffled from where her face was pressed against his neck.

Shiro laughed and tugged her closer, settling her in his lap. The fresh smell of her hair and the warmth of her body against his was intoxicating, but as good as it felt to have the issues in their relationship (hopefully) resolved he knew that there were still things they needed to discuss. After a few minutes of silently enjoying each other's company he lifted his head. “I hate to spoil this feeling but we need to talk about that message from the gang,” he said softly, nuzzling his nose in her hair.

A soft sigh. “I know.” Pidge pulled slowly away, shifting off of Shiro's lap and back into the chair she had been occupying. Her expression was soft as she gazed at him at first, but it quickly shifted into a professional look. She folded her hands in her lap before speaking. “Okay, here's what I think. The best way to approach this is by doing what we've been doing: looking for evidence of quintessence here on Earth. Admittedly it's a pretty inexact process, but until we figure out something better. . .” Her voice faded away as she shrugged, the gesture eloquent under the circumstances.

It was barely a second later that she felt, rather than saw, Shiro stiffen. “What? What just occurred to you?”

“The Lions,” he whispered, a flush of excitement creeping up his cheeks. “Wouldn't they be even better than these quintessence detectors we've been relying on? The damned stuff was used to create them, right? To meld the technological with the magical?” His voice had increased in volume as he warmed to the idea. “We can bring them here, to the Garrison - hell, they could probably find quintessence anywhere on Earth if they tried! And their natures should make it easy to tell the difference between unrefined and refined and you don't think this is a good idea.”

Pidge shook her head slowly. “Nooooo, I do, it's just -” The sentence ended abruptly and Shiro watched as she gave the matter some thought, everything running through her head all but visible on her face. It was so fascinating to watch, and he was so absorbed, that he started when she jumped to her feet and ran out of the room. A beat passed before his brain managed to catch up enough to chase after her.

“Where are you going?” he called out as they dodged students milling about in the corridor between classes.

“To have a chat with a few Galra scientists!”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Where's Keith? Shouldn't he be present for this conversation?” Lance looked around the room once more, perturbed by the undeniable absence.

Allura shook her head, eyes downcast and mouth set in a frown. “I told him we were having this meeting and his response was 'No way in hell am I discussing this with everybody until I figure out how I feel.” before he marched off to Eldur's hanger.” Her mouth twisted. “He's been locked away in there ever since.”

“Well, I for one don't blame him,” Coran said after taking a sip of Nunvil. “He's a notoriously private individual at the best of times, and this is a lot for him to process. The fact that it all came out in front of the team makes it that much worse.” A pensive expression crossed his face before he looked towards Allura. “Maybe we shouldn't have this conversation right now.”

“I would much prefer for Keith to be a part of this, but we can not wait for him to figure out how he feels before we decide what we're going to do about this,” she replied, voice firm.

“Do about what?” Hunk questioned with a sardonic laugh. “It's not like it's our decision to make, anyway. This is about Keith, and that makes it his right.”

Allura shot the Yellow Paladin a look. “And the Imperial Council? They obviously think they have some sort of rights in this situation.” She huffed out a breath, glancing around at the surprised faces of her three companions. “Skolark knew the truth and kept it to himself! He has some sort of end in mind, I don't doubt, and he doesn't care who he manipulates to get to it.”

Lance coughed once. “Well, ummm, putting aside, for the moment, the fact that there is no evidence that Skolark knows about this how can you act like the Imperial Council _wouldn't_ have some sort of rights? He's a member of their royal family, for pity's sake! They should have a say.”

“That is hardly the point!”

A deferential cough was heard, and then Hunk spoke up. “Ummm, that's exactly the point,” he stated bluntly. “You can think whatever you want about Skolark – can curse him eight different ways into the fiery pits of Altean Hell – but you cannot deny that he has a right to an opinion in this situation.”

Allura glared at the two Paladins in the room before turning to her fellow Altean. “Coran -”

He held up a hand to stop her. “I'm sorry, Princess, but this is one time where I'm going to agree with Lance and Hunk. As much as you may hate it, and Keith will probably hate it, the Imperial Council does have some rights in this instance, and we can not ignore that fact.”

“So what do you propose we do?” Allura groused, sullen at being outvoted.

“We aren't going to 'do' anything without Keith's input,” Lance spoke up, determined. “Any decisions need to be his.”

Coran decisively nodded. “And as to the rest. . . well that all depends on which of two possibilities is the correct one.” He raised one finger. “One, Skolark knew the truth about Keith's ancestry and kept it from us, in which case we will not conceal from him the fact that we now know.” Another finger. “And second Skolark and the Council have no hint of the truth, in which case we, under the terms of the current truce, have an obligation to tell them.” His mouth twisted slightly in an almost-smile. “I'll leave it to each of you which one you think is more likely.”

“I also think it would be a good idea, once everything is out in the open, to find out if Keith is the only heir to whatever now constitutes the Galra throne,” Hunk added. “Kolivan and Antok told us that the former crown prince had a younger sister that was forced to marry Zarkon. If there are any children, or grandchildren of that union. . .” He let his words fade away, the implications more than clear.

“If there are other heirs than things are going to get a hell of a lot more complicated,” Lance gloomily predicted.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“When you said you wanted to chat with some Galra scientists I didn't think you meant like this.”

Pidge laughed as she climbed out of her speeder. “Yeah, well, it would have been a tough thing to explain on the ride out here.”

“So explain now,” Shiro ordered, tugging off his helmet and following Pidge as she walked toward where Ivy and Sora were hidden. Both Lions were fully cloaked but there were no worries about walking into them; as soon as their Paladins were close enough both the cloaks and the force fields would drop.

“Well, it occurred to me -” Her voice broke off as they heard a loud buzz and then with two distinct snapping sounds the Lions suddenly appeared and Pidge started to laugh. As soon as Shiro caught sight of them he joined in.

Sora was on his belly, head up and front paws extended, back legs neatly tucked against his body. And in between his front paws, safe and secure, was Ivy in an identical position. The size difference between the pair ensured that they fit together like puzzle pieces, and Shiro felt an almost irresistible urge to wrap his arms around Pidge – to tuck her head beneath his chin – much like Sora had Ivy tucked away in his embrace.

 _What the hell_ , he thought to himself, and gave up resisting his desire, reaching around her from behind and clasping his hands at her waist. She was warm and fit just right against him. “Do you think they felt the change between us?” he whispered, a pleased grin growing on his face when Pidge sighed and leaned back against him.

Her body shook a little with suppressed laughter. “Who knows? Did they fall for each other first and influence our feelings or is it the other way around? Kind of hard to tell when the bond is so close and intricate.”

Shiro hummed in agreement, pressing his nose into the soft skin behind Pidge's ear. “You still haven't explained what we're doing here,” he whispered, enjoying the goose flesh that rose on her neck in response.

She pushed away slightly, just enough to be able to turn and meet his eyes. “It's quite simple. The Galra scanned Ivy, right? And they learned a whole mess of things about us and our home planet as a result. But what they maybe didn't realize was -”

“Ivy would have been learning about them at the same time!” Shiro finished with a laugh, giving Pidge a quick, hard kiss. “You are a genius. An absolutely bona fide, slightly scary, never-will-I-get-on-your-bad-side genius!” He relaxed his embrace and moved toward Ivy, grinning when she lowered her head with no hesitation, mouth open and ramp extending.

Pidge half-heartedly glared at her Lion. “Traitor,” she said in an aside, deliberately ignoring Shiro's chuckle. They both climbed the ramp, settling in the cockpit, and Pidge powered up the basic systems, just enough to ensure that Ivy will respond to her through their bond.

The data screens and the head's up display come on almost immediately, and a variety of code starts scrolling across the main control screen, too fast for Shiro to make any sense of it. Pidge's eyes are glued on the information, and a sly smile tugged on one corner of her mouth. “Just like I thought,” she says after a few minutes. “Ivy recorded all of the scans, even turning a couple of them back to gain more intel for us.” With a shake of her head Pidge laughed. “I wish I had thought of this sooner; it could have saved us a lot of trouble.”

“Meaning?”

She pressed a button on her control panel and froze the screen on a pattern of multi-colored, wavy lines. “That,” she intoned with a flick of her hand toward the screen, “is the Galra equivalent of a spectrometer reading. Exactly what we were trying to create is Dad's lab, only this is, obviously, more precise and accurate.” She flipped through a couple more screens, a small frown knitting her brows together. “I think we need to take Ivy back to the Garrison with us; I don't want to risk any potential corruption in downloading all of this data.”

Shiro grinned. “That'll please Commander Iverson no end,” he dryly commented.

“Oh, it gets worse,” Pidge responded. “If we can't convince Sora to stay behi -”

An alarm started blaring in the cockpit, cutting off her words. They were jolted by an abrupt motion as Ivy rose to her feet, mouth automatically closing as she turned her head, scanning the immediate area. Pidge accessed the current data screen, watching as information rolled past. The she sucked in her breath.

“What?” Shiro asked, bending closer to the screens, his face beside hers. “What is it?”

“It's that same spectrometer reading,” Pidge said, sounding uncertain. “Ivy's picking up something. Something nearby.”

“Is it a residual from the cavern we found Maji in?”

Pidge's expression turned hopeful and she flipped through a few different screens. Then she went pale. “No, it's not,” was her choked out response. “It's further out in the desert. And whatever it is is active right now.”


	16. Manipulation

Shiro felt his heart squeeze at Pidge's words, then kick into overdrive, the familiar, reassuring thrill of the chase settling over him. He wanted to get to Sora, for the two of them to head out into the desert and find whatever Ivy picked up on, but he knew Pidge would never let him go alone. And chasing after something so completely unknown, putting her in heaven-only-knows what kind of danger. . . He forced down his first instinct and took a moment to evaluate the situation rationally, thinking like a commander.

“We'll head back to the Garrison, with the Lions,” he said with an emphatic nod. When Pidge opened her mouth to speak he shook his head. “Commander Iverson will just have to deal with it.”

“I wasn't going to argue,” she said. “I think for right now it's the best decision, and I've already got it set up for Ivy to be able to lock on to that signal again, even at up to two hundred miles away. I'm just. . . well, kind of worried about where we're going to put them.” She gestured vaguely around the cockpit. “We can probably fit Ivy into one of the vehicle hangers, but Sora. . .”

“Will just have to stay cloaked,” Shiro finished. “I know it's not an ideal solution, but if we monitor the power output of the crystal we can keep it under control, right?”

Pidge nodded. “I'll put Dad on that,” she said. “He'll be over the moon at a chance to learn more about the Lions.”

“Then it's settled; we're heading back right now.” He reached out and activated the remote to bring the speeder to Ivy, then quickly kissed Pidge's forehead. “Go back as soon as the speeder is secure, don't wait on me.”

“You'll be right behind me though, right?” she asked, looking worried. “You won't do anything stupid like go chasing this signal, will you?”

“Definitely not.”

He'd figure out a way to earn her forgiveness afterwards.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Lance managed to duck out of the way as Hunk stepped forward and easily caught the wrench that had tumbled down from Eldur's head. “You might want to be a bit more careful with the tools, man,” the Yellow Paladin shouted toward the top of the Lion.

A disheveled head of dark hair appeared. “Maybe if idiot visitors would announce themselves I'd know they were here and could then be more careful,” Keith shouted back. The statement was made without any heat, though, and a moment later Eldur lowered his head so Hunk and Lance could enter the cockpit.

Where they found Keith, looking like he had neither slept nor shaved in at least two days. “Bro, you look like hell,” Lance baldly stated, refusing to mince words.

Keith snorted. “Yeah, well, even your exalted personal care regimen would have trouble overcoming this much sleeplessness.”

“It'd probably help with the - shall we say hygiene? - issue, though,” Hunk put in, wrinkling his nose. “Seriously, Keith, when was the last time you shaved? Or showered?”

The Red Paladin shrugged. “I'm not sure. I've been here with Eldur pretty much since Allura told me we needed to make a few decisions about my. . . position.”

“That was only yesterday,” Lance commented. “And, no offense, but you stink much worse than that.”

“There've been a couple of sessions on the training deck as well. Kolivan's teaching me how to fight with two blades, so. . .”

Hunk laughed. “Yeah, that's probably it. The stench of training deck funk is unmistakable.” He looked toward Lance, who half shrugged and raised an eyebrow. “Well, we can put up with it if you can,” he said, attention wholly back on Keith. “Because we really want to talk to you about some of this without Allura and Coran involved.”

“Mostly without Allura,” Lance added. “She's a little. . . unreasonable on this particular subject.”

“You don't say,” Keith deadpanned.

“All right, all right, let's just leave that issue to one side for the moment,” was Hunk's comment, typical for his role as peacekeeper. “Let's address something else first. We received an acknowledgment that Shiro and Pidge got the message we sent about the Druids and what might be their interest in Earth, so for now that can be safely entrusted to their hands. Which leaves us with nothing to do but wonder about you.” He pointed at Keith. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

Keith sat in his pilot's chair with a sigh. “Honestly? Beyond feeling confused I have no idea. It's all been just a little too much, you know? A little too fast.”

“It's kind of overwhelming for all of us, and we're not even directly affected by it,” Lance quietly said. “I can't imagine what it's like for you.”

“That's. . . surprisingly considerate of you, Lance.” The surprise in the Red Paladin's voice and face was undeniable.

The Blue Paladin laughed. “Yeah, well, I am capable of that. On occasion.” He slid down the wall of the cockpit to sit on the floor, folding his long legs up and out of the way. “So I suppose you want a summary of our conversation with Coran and Allura before we discuss anything else?”

“It'd be nice.”

Hunk proceeded to lay out a concise version of the rather messy discussion of the previous day, with special emphasis on their speculations of what Skolark knew, when he knew it, and what he (and by extension the Imperial Council) intended to do about it. “There's certainly no consensus on any of these questions,” he went on. “And there won't be until we can talk to Skolark directly. But Coran made one excellent point; if Skolark doesn't already know the truth of your ancestry we are obligated by the terms of the truce to share this information with him.”

Keith nodded, looking thoughtful. “Kolivan said the same thing, basically. That no matter what the truth is of Skolark's knowledge, or lack thereof, the entire mess can't be kept under wraps.” He pushed a hand through his hair, grimacing at the grungy feel of it. “And as much as I hate the idea of having some much attention, and expectation, centered on me I have to agree.” His sigh was long and loud. “So let's get down to the meat of the problem; what will Skolark want out of this – out of me – and how manipulative is he likely to be in getting what he wants?”

“I've got a theory about what Skolark's been hatching.”

The other two both looked at Lance. “I thought you didn't believe that he's known the truth?” Hunk asked, exchanging a look with Keith.

Lance shook his head. “No, I said there wasn't any actual _evidence_ one way or the other. I didn't bring my personal belief into it because I didn't want to make Allura any crazier on the subject, but I definitely think Skolark has known pretty much from the moment he first stepped off that shuttle and into our lives after Zarkon's death.” He paused for thought. “If not longer than that.”

“Longer that that?” Keith asked, brow furrowed. “How the heck could he have known for longer? He never met any of us before that day!”

“He couldn't have become Imperial Council President without being privy to a few of the skeletons in the closet,” Lance explained. “It's entirely possible he learned the true story of your grandfather at some point.”

“That's not a sound argument, Lance,” Hunk spoke up. “Knowing the truth about the last crown prince doesn't mean squat, since Keith's existence was ten thousand years and who knows how many light years away. The one does not equal the other.”

“Yeah, I know, but remember that fight at Zarkon's home ship, when we were trapped by that solar barrier? Keith directly fought against Zarkon that day, and considering Zarkon was once the Black Paladin I think it's safe to assume he had a connection, however weak, to the other Lions as well.”

“You're suggesting that he learned something about me during that fight,” Keith whispered, face growing pale. “He learned something from Eldur.”

A low growl filled the cockpit, and it took a moment to identify it as coming from the Lion. “I'm not suggesting that Eldur gave away information,” Lance quickly said, laying a placating hand against one of the walls and leaving it until the growling subsided. “I'm just saying that there's a chance that Zarkon used his proximity to reach through the bond and extract intel. Intel that he then shared with the Council.”

“Yeah, because a willingness to share was such a prominent part of Zarkon's personality,” Hunk scoffed.

“He may not have had any choice, though,” Keith commented, sitting straighter in the pilot's chair. “I learned from Kolivan that a part of the agreement that named Zarkon king was that the Council had the last word on anything – ANYTHING – to do with the old royal family. And there was a spell, of sorts, cast by a Druid at the time of Zarkon's ascension, that made it impossible for him to conceal anything on that subject. A spell that no other Druid would be able to counteract, since it was a one shot deal and no records were left of how it was done. Once the Druid who created that spell died it was lost forever.”

Hunk stared for a long moment, thoughts visible on his face. “Okay, so let's take it as possible, if not probable, that Skolark has, in fact, known about Keith's ancestry this entire time.” He met Lance's eyes. “What's your theory about what he intends to do?”

“I think he might be looking to. . . cement a permanent alliance in the age-old fashion of a marriage contract.”

If Lance had been looking for shock value there was no way he was disappointed. Hunk's jaw dropped and a strange, half-strangled sound came from his throat when he tried to speak. Keith flushed bright red to the roots of his hair and looked away, pretending to be absorbed in something on the control panel.

“Mar. . . Marriage?” Hunk finally managed to stammer out. “To who, exactly?”

“Allura.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Sora already had his sensors locked on the signal, saving Shiro the time it would have taken to get the tracking process started. The remote call was bringing the speeder back, and as soon as it was stowed they took off with a resounding blast that shook the entire valley. Shiro spared a thought for what might be going through the minds of local residents before focusing his attention on the task at hand.

The flight to where the signal originated didn't take very long, but when they arrived he was surprised to find no signs of activity in the immediate vicinity. Her circled Sora around twice, scanning the entire area. All readings were normal, except that continuous flutter in the spectrograph.

“Any thoughts, buddy?” Shiro asked his Lion. The answer that came over the bond was just an impression, a feeling, that could only be labeled “Ivy”. “Not the best idea,” his Paladin told Sora. “Pidge'll be hoppin' mad that I came out here on my own and I'd like to keep an assortment of body parts intact, thank you very much.”

There was a huff of feline laughter, and then another wave of thought. “Lupa?” Shiro inquired. “He's not here, you know.” A warm burst of frustration passed between them, with just the tiniest edge of _You're an idiot, Shiro!_. That was enough to get the point across. “Oh! We need to scan underground!” Shiro laid a hand on the control panel. “Sorry, I'm a little dense today.” He switched to the ground penetrating radar, hoping that it would at least give him a hint.

It provided more than a hint; as soon as the system was operating at full capacity the screen lit up with dozens, hundreds, thousands of figures, all bearing the signature combination of electronics and quintessence that could only mean one thing. They were drone soldiers. Galra drone soldiers, which meant -

“Dammit, Shiro! You said you would follow right behind me!” The roar of reverse thrusters sounded loud over the coms as Ivy came to an abrupt halt in front of them, her glowing eyes peering directly at the cockpit. “I'd like an explanation,” Pidge went on angrily, “but I'll settle for asking if you've learned anything.”

“Try your ground penetrating radar.”

“What?”

“Just do it,” Shiro barked out, feeling unsettled. A part of him was hoping that what he had seen was some sort of fevered dream, and that when Pidge found nothing he'd be able to relax, but her sudden intake of breath put paid to that idea.

“Shiro,” she whispered, voice tense. “What do we do?

He took a deep breath. “We mark this spot and then get back to the Garrison as fast as we can to contact the rest of the team. The question of Druids being interested in Earth is no longer simply a research project.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

The expression on Commander Iverson's face when Sora touched down in the open expanse of the quad was worth any amount of worry over how the giant Lion would fit.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Even if I accept what you're telling me as true I fail to see what I'm supposed to do about it.”

Pidge snarled and would have leapt across the desk to smack Commander Iverson's smug, stupid face if Matt hadn't laid a restraining hand on her shoulder. “Easy, girl,” he chided his sister before turning to Iverson. “I think it's pretty clear what you're supposed to do about it. You're the commander of one of the largest military installations on Earth, one that is manned by soldiers from all over the planet. You need to take the lead in planning our defense.”

“And if I think there's no need for a defense?”

“Why would you think that?” Shiro asked, incredulous. “You've seen the images from the scan and heard the rest of the story from both Pidge and myself. What could possibly keep you from believing that this is a dire situation?”

Iverson didn't reply directly, but the glance he cast toward Pidge was eloquent. She snorted in disgust. “He's still pissed off that a 'little girl' out-maneuvered his entire security system and then fooled him and pretty much every professor in this joint into believing she was a boy.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Events that I do not, for the record, regret one tiny bit.”

“Now listen here, girl -”

Sam Holt coughed once, cutting off any further angry words. “Leaving aside the question of defending Earth for the moment what do you think we should do right now, Shiro? Katie?”

Shiro deferred to Pidge, who pushed away from the wall she was leaning on and moved to the center of the room. “We need to do what we can to figure out if this is a normal batch of drones.” She exchanged looks with her father and brother. “Remember what I told you about the malfunctioning drone fighters and the theories as to what happened with them?” When both Matt and Sam nodded she went on. “We need to try and find out if a similar situation is in play here, and to do that -”

“We need to get our hands on one of the drone soldiers,” Shiro finished the thought.

Pidge nodded. “We already know that there's quintessence involved from comparing the current readings to what Ivy copied when they scanned her on their planet but that's about all we know for sure. And unfortunately the quintessence detectors we've been using were designed for small scale work, which is why we need one soldier. We don't have the tools we'd need to scan that entire army.”

“We may be able to change that, though,” Sam put in. “If we could take the basics of the detector Hunk designed to search for modified quintessence, and create one that could be installed in one of the Lions. . .”

“Okay, then here's the plan,” Shiro commanded. “Sam and Pidge, you work on scaling up that modified detector. Matt -” He pointed to his friend. “- you're coming with me on a fact finding mission in the desert. I want the information we have to work with to be as accurate as possible. We'll take Ivy since she already has that Galra spectrometer thing saved in her memory.” He grinned. “I'm counting on her accepting you because your Pidge's brother and every bit as smart.”

“Piece of cake; I'm an old hand at charming the ladies.”

Pidge rolled her eyes as Shiro bit his lower lip to stifle laughter. “Right, if you say so, Matt. And lastly you -” He turned and met Iverson's gaze. “ - you will do whatever you need to do to make this threat clear to the world's leaders and get their okay to begin planning a defense.” Iverson opened his mouth but Shiro continued talking over him. “And I expect you to not argue with me. Is all of that clear?” Everyone nodded. “Then let's get to work.

Iverson, Sam, and Matt all left the room but Pidge hung back. Once they were alone Shiro reached out and pulled her close against his chest, burying his nose in her soft hair. “Get a message to the team,” he whispered. “Use the regular communications channel; I want them to receive word of this as quickly as possible.”

She nodded her agreement. “This is real, isn't it? The thing we've been terrified of since we first escaped with Maji is actually happening. There are Galra here on Earth.”

Shiro shifted a little, just enough to put some space between them before he brought their foreheads together. “We'll get through this the same way we've gotten through almost everything, Katie. Together.” He kissed her quickly on the lips. “Now get moving; you father needs your help and that message is as urgent as anything else.”

They inhaled deeply before speaking in unison. “We need Voltron.”


	17. Urgency

The knock on the door of her private quarters was unexpected, especially at that hour of the evening. She knew it wouldn't be Coran; he always spoke to her through the com system before disturbing her privacy. Their Blade of Marmora guests were too new to the Castle to have a clue about where anyone's rooms were and neither Lance nor Hunk would dare bother her like this. So that left one person.

“I think we need to talk,” Keith said without preamble as soon as Allura opened the door. He gently pushed past her and flopped into the nearest chair with a sigh.

She followed, moving more demurely to sit on the sofa, careful to keep a fair amount of space between them. “I agree,” she softly replied. “Only I thought this conversation would be had with everybody.”

Keith grunted and pushed a hand through his hair, thankfully much cleaner than when he had spoken to Hunk and Lance earlier that day. “It will involve everybody, eventually, but right now I think it's important that you and I settle a few things.”

“All right. What 'things' do you have in mind?”

“I know you believe that Skolark has known about me this entire time,” he responded. “I'm curious as to what you think his purpose is in keeping silent.”

Allura opened her mouth, fully intending some sort of reply along the lines of _He doesn't need a purpose; just being a quiznacking jerk is enough!_ when she stopped to give some actual thought to the question. The truth of the matter was she wasn't exactly sure of what Skolark wanted, but one possibility stood out above all others. “He must think he, and the Council, will gain some advantage in negotiations for a permanent peace.” She shrugged once. “I can think of a few other possibilities, but that one is most likely to be correct.”

“And, uh -” He coughed once. “ - how do you think this can be used in crafting a permanent peace?”

“Ages and ages ago such an alliance would have been solidified through a marriage,” Allura replied with a chuckle. “But I don't - KEITH! What's the matter?!”

She felt panic rise in her throat at the sight of the Red Paladin, her military commander, face as pale as a ghost and breath all but choking him. She leapt up from her seat and moved behind the chair where Keith sat, immediately rubbing circles on his back to help him relax. When his breathing returned to more-or-less normal she moved again and knelt in front of him. “What was all of that about?”

He roughly cleared his throat with a grimace. “Just, uh, surprised at the thought.” His lips twitched in a tiny smile. “And wondering if you and Lance happen to be sharing a brain.”

“What?”

“I kind of didn't want to tell you this, but since you had the same thought I guess I'm stuck.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Lance, Hunk and I had a bit of a talk, and one thing that came out of it was the suggestion that Skolark may be hoping to use me in a marriage contract.”

Allura chewed her lower lip for a long moment, thinking. “I can understand how that would occur to you guys, but it really doesn't make much sense,” she finally said. “I mean the Imperial Council isn't really pursuing any alliances right now because everything is still in a bit of an uproar.” She laughed lightly. “In fact the only alliance they really seem interested in is -”

Her skin darkened as a flush raced up her neck and across her face and she seemed to choke on her own words. “Oh,” she finally managed to whisper. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Keith added. “That's exactly what was suggested.”

“But I can't marry you!” she all but shouted after another long pause in the conversation. “I can't marry a Galra!”

Keith bristled. “I didn't realize that you saw me as nothing more than that, now. I still have my human side; you know, that part of me that you were so eager to have sex with a few months ago?”

“That was different! I was curious about human mating rituals, and -”

“I just happened to be convenient, right?”

“Well, I wasn't about to go to Lance, for _quiznack's_ sake!”

Allura had risen to her feet during the exchange and loomed over Keith, face flushed and breathing strained. He was on the verge of making a heated reply to her last statement when one corner of her mouth twitched and then she was laughing, loud and joyful. It was thoroughly contagious; he joined in, a tacit agreement that the entire discussion had devolved into the ridiculous.

Once she was able to calm down Allura took a moment to dab at the tears in the corners of her eyes. “Sor. . . Sorry,” she gasped out with a last giggle. “I think it all just sort of caught up with me at that moment.” She dropped back onto the sofa. “I feel like I've been under constant pressure since we first heard of Zarkon's assassination all those years ago, and now -”

“And now getting this almost unbelievable truth about me thrown at you has been enough to make you crack.” Keith snorted. “But let me ask you this: how the hell do you think I feel?”

“I can't even imagine.” She leaned back against the cushion with a sigh. “I do want you to know one thing, though. What I said before, about not marrying a Galra. . . Well, I really didn't mean that personally. It's more. . . everything I ever had in my life was taken away by Zarkon and the Galra that followed his lead, so it's difficult for me to separate them from the Galra I know now -”

“Including me.”

“Including you,” she nodded. “So the idea of any kind of marriage with the Empire – or what remains of it – is absolutely anathema to me. And it isn't intellect or logic that makes me feel this way, it's pure instinct.”

“Not even for the sake of the peace we're trying to forge?” Keith asked, studying her intently.

Allura laughed without humor. “You'd think that would be a pretty good motivation for me to get over this revulsion, wouldn't you?” She reached out and took his hand in hers. “And one of the potential offers is, I admit, somewhat tempting.” Keith flushed a bright red, which made her genuinely smile. “But it's just not possible for me. Do you understand?”

“I do.” He chuckled a little. “Every time I feel like my head is getting to wrapped up in this idea I have to remind myself of two things: one, this is only one of who knows how many possibilities -”

“And two?”

“If there is another heir to the throne he – or she – might be the one on Skolark's hot seat,” he concluded with a grin.

“I'm glad that thought makes you feel better,” Allura pouted. “But it doesn't do me -”

“Princess! Keith! Get to the control room now!”

When Coran spoke in that tone of voice everyone obeyed with alacrity.

Arriving on the main deck they found Lance and Hunk already there and the primary screen dominated by Pidge's anxious face. “Pidge!” Allura cried out. “What's going on?”

“I don't have a lot of time to explain,” The Green Paladin responded, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. “You guys need to get here as soon as you can.” She took a deep breath. “We've found ample evidence of a Galra presence on Earth.”

A stunned silence followed that announcement. “You, uh, what?” Lance finally squeezed out around the lump in his throat.

“What kind of evidence?” Allura asked, even as she activated the holographic map to gauge the Castle's position relative to Earth's. They were disturbingly far away. “Pidge?”

“We're not sure,” Pidge sighed, rubbing her forehead. “We went out into the desert to see if Ivy had stored any information on Galra tech when they scanned her, and through her we detected a signal that seemed to be a match for quintessence. It wasn't coming from the cave where we found Maji, though, so we decided to investigate further.”

Allura sucked in a breath. “Pidge -”

“I know, I know, it was beyond stupid for just Shiro and I to check it out, but we felt we didn't have much of a choice.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Bottom line is we used the ground penetrating radar and located a. . . a nest of Galra drone soldiers. We don't know what else is out there, if anything, but -”

“Don't waste any more time in explanations,” Keith interrupted. “We'll be there as soon as we can.” He turned away from the screen. “Coran?”

The Altean ran a few calculations through his station. “Even with a wormhole it'll take us at least three _quintants_ , maybe four.”

Lance, Hunk, and Keith all looked to Allura. “Make the necessary arrangements, Coran,” she ordered, voice shaking slightly as she made to leave the room. “And send a message to Skolark. If he wants to prove we can trust him and the factions that have allied themselves with him now would be the perfect time to do so.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Pidge let out a sigh of relief as soon as the com connection ended. Just knowing that the rest of the team, and the Castle, would be on Earth made her feel about a thousand times better. Even the fact that they'd have to wait a few days didn't dampen the feeling. As much as she had enjoyed spending time together with Shiro, just the two of them, she didn't much enjoy the disconnect from everyone else. The straining of the Paladin Bond made for a lot of uncomfortable situations.

“Katie?”

She snapped her head up. “Yeah, Dad, sorry.” She tried to grin. “Got a little lost in my own head for a minute,” she went on.

“Is the rest of the team coming?” Sam asked, smiling as his daughter gaped at him. “Please. That would have been the first thing I would have done if I was in charge, so it's no surprise that Shiro made the same decision.” He adjusted his glasses. “I'm even wondering if he really wants us to work on trying to make a bigger quintessence detector or if he just thinks leaving us at the Garrison will keep us safe. Well, keep _you_ safe.”

Pidge shot her father a look. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked with a level of asperity usually reserved for conversations with Matt. Or Lance.

“Katie. I am neither ignorant nor unobservant, and the feelings that you and Shiro have for each other are all too obvious.”

She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I. . . I kind of thought we were keeping things under wraps fairly well.”

Sam laughed. “Katie, I'm your father and I've known Shiro since he was seventeen years old. There's very little the two of you would be able to keep hidden from me.” He laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder. “And for the record I approve. Enthusiastically.”

“You do?”

“Of course! You're both mature, intelligent people, who know your own minds. If you've chosen each other there's no better argument for it being a good thing.” He tugged Pidge close, tucking her against his side. “And he tries to protect you, but doesn't fight you when it's something you feel you need to do. That is the best measure of his feelings.”

Pidge sniffed, burying her face against her father's neck for a long moment. “Thanks, Dad.” The words were muffled before she pulled away. “We need to get to work if we're going to help Shiro and Matt.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Soooo, you and my little sister. My baby sister. My _only_ sister.”

Shiro exhaled with a huff. “Get to the point, Matt. We have work to do.”

Matt chuckled. “No real point. I just never thought I'd need to give my best friend the shovel talk on behalf of my little sister.”

“You don't need to give me the shovel talk. Whether she's just my friend or something more I care too much about Pidge to ever hurt her.” He swiped a hand across Ivy's control panel, opening up the sensor control screen. “And can I count on you giving the shovel talk to her on behalf of your best friend?”

“Probably. It's too much fun not to.”

They were rapidly approaching the area the spectrometer signature was coming from; Matt kicked in the reverse thrusters to slow Ivy down and activated the cloak. They had decided to approach as stealthily as possible, under the circumstances. Every second of concealment they could get was an extra second to gather information that they might sorely need.

“Hover,” Shiro ordered. “We're right on top of it.” The readings were going a little crazy, but as soon as the sensors stabilized it was obvious that what they were getting was an exact match for what Ivy had recorded during the scans on the Galra home world. It was the tiny fluctuations, though, that held the attention of both of them.

“Should we use the GPR?” Matt asked in a hushed voice. “We'd get a better physical picture; right now everything is too densely packed to even make a guess as to how many there are.”

Shiro shook his head. “GPR might give the game away. Besides, I'm more interested in those few differences we keep seeing.” He studied the readout for a few moments. “The fluctuations are cyclical, and happening at regular intervals.”

“What do you think that means?”

“I think it means we're dealing with the same sort of thing that afflicted the drone fighters, according to the reports we got,” was the quiet response. Shiro in full command mode was always preternaturally calm and collected, never raising his voice. “The operational code for this batch of soldiers has most likely been altered in some way.” He hit a button on the communications control panel. “I want this transmitted to the Castle in real time,” he explained when Matt gave him a questioning look. “If it looks anything like what they have from the fighter they caught then we'll know for sure.”

“Shiro?” Keith's worried voice suddenly filled Ivy's cockpit. “Is this coming from you?”

“Yeah, yeah it is,” he replied. “Matt and I are in Ivy and scanning the pack of soldiers I'm assuming Pidge already told you guys about. I need you to tell me if any of these readings look at all similar to what you guys extracted from that fighter.”

“Uh, hang on.” A half-muffled conversation started with Coran's voice coming across the clearest. There were a few clicks over the com system, then the Altean's voice was loud and clear.

“Shiro, switch over to an infrared scan. I want to capture a heat signature.”

“Yeah, like the one I managed to get from a couple of fighters during that last malfunction.” Lance's voice echoed over the com; he must have been at his station, which was about as far away from Coran's control console as you could get.

“Doing it now,” Shiro replied, making the switch and watching how the readings on Ivy's screen altered, shapes blooming in colors ranging from a cool blue to a white hot. But there was one spot that was out of place, a color not in the ordinary infrared spectrum. “Coran?”

“Focus on that,” the Altean spoke up, urgency in his voice. “Just a few seconds so I can make a -”

“SHIT!!” Matt suddenly shouted as he pulled back on the left hand control, sending Ivy into a sudden climb. “We've got trouble.”

“Shiro, I need more!” Coran ordered.

“Sorry, that's not gonna happen right now,” the Black Paladin put in, turning off the infrared and activating all of the screens and controls to their combat settings. “Matt, can you -”

“Yeah, I think so. The cloak is still holding, so just a little more altitude should get us out of the danger zone.” He turned his head and shot his friend a rueful grin. “Might not be such a bad idea to get Katie out here with Sora, though.”

“Already on the way,” Pidge's voice sounded in their ears. “Hold tight for a couple of minutes.”

“What the hell is that?” Matt suddenly cried out, definitely in a panic.

A black circle of light had erupted on the desert floor, crossed lines in the center. It sparked with malevolence, seeming almost alive. Shiro felt his heart jump to his throat, remembering the first – and thankfully only – time he had encountered this phenomenon. “It's the Komar,” he whispered, hand clenching around his friend's shoulder. “Get us the hell out of here, Matt!”

With full power going to the engines Ivy's cloak dissolved, and that seemed to be all that was needed. A blast of energy was fired from the Komar that Matt just managed to evade. He circled the Lion back around toward the Garrison, hoping to get out of range. “What'll happen if that thing hits us?” he asked Shiro, maneuvering Ivy closer to the rock formations that lined the valley.

“It'll suck a measure of the life force out of both us and Ivy, leaving us sitting ducks for who knows how long,” Shiro nervously replied as he scanned the skies. “Anytime you want to join us, Pidge -”

A blast of violet light streaked past Ivy, clearly visible through the cockpit window. It connected with the black light at the point one of the crossed lines touched the circle, disrupting the flow and cutting off another blast seconds before it was fired. “YEAH!” Pidge exulted as one fourth of the cross of light didn't re-grow. “Take that, you crazy Druid bitches!” she shouted with a maniacal laugh. Then, in a much quieter tone of voice “Good boy, Sora.”

“Matt, aim the lasers at one of those other points on the circle,” Shiro commanded. “If we can disable two of them it'll buy us time, not just to get back to the Garrison but until the rest of the team can get here.” He studied Ivy's power readings for a moment. “Pidge, if we can take out another part of the Komar can you get close enough to finish the infrared scan for Coran? Ivy's power is a little drained at the moment.”

“Just give me the word and I'll get it done. Coran, be ready to receive.”

“Ready and waiting, Number Five.”

Matt took a deep breath before plunging Ivy into a dive, headed straight for the point directly opposite the one Sora's lasers had taken out. He brought the Lion heart-clenchingly close before firing, the streak of green light unbelievably bright. It connected and in the few seconds before they climbed back into the sky they saw a burst of fire and smoke as whatever was under the sand blew up. Then the entire structure of the Komar flickered and faded out. “Got it!” Matt crowed, a look of triumph on his face. “It's all you now, sis!”

Sora swooped down low, the red light of the active infrared scan glowing eerily as the giant Lion passed over the ground, capturing whatever data Coran needed. Shiro had a brief moment to admire Pidge's quick thinking under fire – using the active infrared was much quicker that the passive scan he and Matt had used prior – before Coran was giving them the okay.

“That's it!” the Altean called out. “Get out of there, you three!”

They didn't hesitate, both Holt siblings pointing the Lions toward the Garrison and heading off as fast as the engines could take them. Sora was nothing but a streak of violet light outside of Ivy's cockpit, and Matt let out a low whistle of appreciation.

“Damn, he's fast. He never flew like that for me.”

Shiro grinned. “Yeah, well, he adores Pidge, so. . .”

“Like Paladin, like Lion, I suppose.”


	18. Divergence

“Well, the good news is you don't need to try and get your hands on one of those drones,” Coran said. “I can confirm that whatever's going on with them is identical to what affected the fighters we went up against.”

Shiro's sigh of relief was unmistakable. “The only better news would be if you told me the Castle is going to land at the Garrison's front door within the next hour.”

“Unfortunately that's not an option,” Allura replied, her face coming into focus on the screen. “We're still a couple of days away, and waiting on some help.”

“Help?” Pidge asked. “What kind of help?” She looked skeptical. “You didn't -”

“We did.” Keith's response was terse. “If Skolark and his allies genuinely want a permanent peace they'll help us stamp out what's left of the Druids with smiles on their faces.” On the screen they saw him glance towards Allura. “It'll also help alleviate some other. . . trust issues.”

Pidge and Shiro exchanged a look. “What sort of trust issues?” the Green Paladin asked, one eyebrow raised. “Has something happened since we left?”

“You could say that,” was Lance's comment. He would have gone on but Allura elbowed him in the ribs.

“A lot of things have happened, too many to discuss over the coms.” She smiled slightly, looking tired. “For now just sit tight and wait. I wish I had better advice, but at the moment it's the best we can do.” And with a click the communication ended and the channel was closed.

Shiro gave his head a shake and glanced over at Pidge, who's raised eyebrows gave her a look of surprise. “What do you think that was about?” she asked.

“No idea,” he answered with a shrug. “But we can't be worrying about what's going on with them; we've got work of our own to be doing.” He got to his feet and crossed the room, sinking into one of the chairs by the messy lab table. “What's going on with the project to turn the Lions into giant quintessence detectors?”

“Almost done, actually. Dad said he was concerned that it might be a power drain so Matt's out with Ivy right now, running a final few checks.” Pidge followed him to the other side of the room.

“Any more signs of activity at the site?”

She shook her head and activated a data screen, showing the most recent sensor logs. “No, nothing. Not even that quintessence spectrometer reading is showing up. Whoever is running that show clearly knows we're on to them and wants to hide as best they can. At least for now.”

“Hmmm,” Shiro hummed, considering. “If it does come down to actually infiltrating the site – and I mean IF – you need to -”

“Already done,” Pidge chuckled, switching the data screen to display a map of the underground caverns and passages, with two routes highlighted. “The two best ways in, one big enough to allow the speeders to pass and the other strictly foot traffic.”

“You would think I'd know by now to expect your anticipation of every possibility.”

“It is one of the top ten reasons you keep me around.”

That pulled a full-throated laugh out of Shiro as he turned in the chair to wrap an arm around Pidge's waist, pulling her close and nestling her against his side. In that position his face was perfectly placed in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sharp, citrusy scent of her favorite body wash. He pressed his lips against the warm skin, grinning as she shivered against him.

“Ta. . . Takashi. . .”

“I like it when you use my first name,” he whispered, lips sliding up to behind her ear

“We, uh. . .” Pidge felt her knees getting weak. “We have work to do.”

“Spoilsport.” But Shiro released his hold and moved away from her, smiling at the sight of the flush staining her neck and face. “What are we doing today, boss?”

Pidge took a minute to reply, still a little flustered. “Ummm, we. . . I mean I have a final few adjustments I want to make to your arm and then we're gonna re-program one of the Garrison's hand-to-hand simulators.” She tapped his cybernetic arm. “I wanna test the modifications to this thing and see what it can really do. And then. . .” her words tapered off as she leaned down until their foreheads touched.

“And then?”

“Well, you know how much I love watching you work out,” she whispered with a sexy smirk as she brought her lips close to his, warm breath caressing his cheeks -

The chime on the door sounded, loud in the sudden stillness. They both started and jumped apart, faces heating. Pidge loudly cleared her throat. “Umm. . . uh, come in!” she called out, voice still a little husky. Shiro grinned and winked at her, getting a stuck out tongue in return.

When the door slid open they were both surprised to see Commander Iverson there, looking as unpleasant as he always did. Shiro got to his feet and moved slightly to partially block Pidge, aware of a disquieting feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Commander,” he formally greeted the older man. “What can we do for you?”

Iverson glanced around the room, taking in all of the strange equipment that went with Sam Holt's research with a dubious expression before his gaze returned to where Shiro and Pidge stood close together. His lips twisted with a contemptuous curl and when he finally spoke there was no mistaking the pleasure he was taking in imparting his news, despite the phony regret in his voice.

“I wanted to show you the courtesy of letting you know that I have just spoken to World Military Command and they see no reason to prepare some sort of defense for something a number of them doubt is even real.”

There passed a long, drawn-out moment of silence. Pidge couldn't keep herself from gaping, eyes wide and jaw slack, but it was Shiro who finally managed to get out some words. “What?!” he exclaimed, dumbfounded. “Why?”

“It may have something to do with the fact that I didn't try very hard to convince them,” was the reply, and now there was no mistaking the glee in Iverson's tone. He looked toward Pidge and his expression hardened. “I did, however, make it clear to Command that if there are some alien enemies currently on Earth they were most likely looking for the two of you and those ridiculous felines, which meant taking your advice was moronic, at best, and suicidal, at worst.”

“You. . . Just. . .” A hot flush of anger suffused Shiro's face, making the scar across the bridge of his nose pale. “What the fuck, Iverson?” he shouted, moving close enough to loom over the older, shorter man. “Why the hell would you do something so completely and utterly asinine?”

Pidge caught the flick of Iverson's eyes toward her and snorted in disgust. “I can't believe you are seriously still that hung up on what I did that you would risk the lives of every man, woman, and child on this planet. You're a pathetic excuse for a soldier, and an even more pathetic excuse for a man.”

Iverson bristled and pulled himself up a little taller and straighter, shoving past Shiro to stand in the middle of the lab. “No one gives a damn what you think, missy,” he snarled, jabbing a finger toward Pidge. “And no one is willing to listen to the pair of you.” He pulled one hand out of his pocket and pressed a button on the small, hand-held, data unit he had. The door was pushed open and half a dozen of the Garrison's elite troops entered the room, weapons at the ready. “As of right now the two of you are under house arrest. You can continue your daily routine but you will not leave the Garrison or communicate with anyone outside under any circumstances. Commander Holt will likewise be confined to his home, as will his son when we track him down.”

“My father and brother? But -”

Pidge's exclamation was cut off by a sudden surge in static electricity in the room, enough to make her hair practically stand on end. She knew that feeling, and when she glanced down she saw Shiro's cybernetic arm beginning to glow with violet light, and at the same time a roaring noise that could only be coming from Sora echoed through the room.

Commander Iverson looked frightened for the first time since he walked into the lab. “Call off the beast, Shirogane!” His eyes jumped to the window as a streak of black and red flew by. “NOW!”

“Shiro,” Pidge whispered, laying a hand on his arm where the metal joined the flesh. “Takashi.”

The violet glow began to fade and the static charge in the room dissipated. Shiro blinked rapidly several times before turning and meeting Pidge's eyes. Without a word he gave his prosthetic arm a shake, as if to rid it of the last of that malevolent energy, then wrapped it around her shoulders. He glared at Iverson. “Get. Out.”

It was to the commander's credit that he neither hesitated nor spoke another word.

As soon as the door closed behind him and the half-dozen guards Shiro and Pidge darted to the windows. Sora was right outside, his immense size dwarfing the buildings that surrounded him. There were broken windows visible in the staff dormitory across the way, more than likely caused by the thrashing of the Lion's tail. Even as they watched he settled on his back haunches and the force field sprang up around him.

Pidge laughed. “I really hope Iverson and the World Military Command weren't counting on learning anything from him. They're screwed if they were.”

Hands grabbed on to her shoulders and spun her around to face Shiro. He was pale and looked somewhat distraught. “You can talk to Matt through Ivy, right?” At her affirmative nod he sighed in relief. “Tell him to get away, to not come back here. At least one of us can be free to move around until the Castle gets here.” His smile was feral. “Their arrival will, I think, put a damper on this 'house arrest' nonsense.”

“Okay, but where should he go?” she asked, already closing her eyes and reaching out with her mind to connect to her Lion. “He can't just circle the Earth for a couple of days; they'll have ships out looking for him.”

“Tell Ivy to take him to the temple,” was the response. “He'll be safe in Myagi with my cousin and aunt for the time being.”

One of the advantages of the bond between a Lion and a chosen Paladin was that communication through the connection happened very quickly, and it was less than a minute later that Pidge's eyes blinked open. “Message received. They're on their way to Japan right now.” She pressed herself against Shiro's side, soaking in some of his warmth to combat the cold feeling at her core. “What are we going to do?” she softly asked, not wanting to be overheard. “You know it'd be ridiculously easy to escape. And with Sora.”

“No,” Shiro replied with an emphatic shake of his head. “That's exactly what Iverson wants us to do and we'd be playing into his hands, proving his point that we're untrustworthy. So we're going to keep our noses clean and not do anything stupid,” he went on, kissing the top of her head. “And bide our time.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Airlock number three secured.”

“Number seven preparing for arrival.”

“Number 10 docking in eight ticks. Seven. . . six. . . five. . .”

The information flowed fast on the bridge as required by the major operation they were running. Skolark had responded to their request for help with both gratifying speed and gratifying numbers. Eight ships, each with a complement of two hundred, including non-drone officers. A ninth ship had been exclusively medical personnel and supplies under Borkas's command. A number of other, smaller ships (including at least three individual speeders) had brought Blade of Marmora members willing to assist.

All in all it looked like they'd be able to arrive on Earth with a more than sufficient force.

Allura blocked the chatter out of her mind, focusing instead on what would need to be done. They had told Shiro and Pidge that it would possibly be four days before they could arrive, but she wanted to shorten that in any way possible. It would mean opening a wormhole meant for a greater distance than she had ever attempted before, but if it landed them directly in Earth's system she was willing to take the risk. As soon as all of the arriving ships were secure a meeting of all the commanders would need to be held, although she knew it'd be difficult to trust some of them.

“Princess!”

Jerked out of her thoughts by that strained shout Allura brought her focus back to the here-and-now, looking around the bridge for the source of the disruption. She caught Lance's eye and could see that he had something unusual to report, so she nodded to indicate he could proceed.

“We have a priority communication that just came in,” the Blue Paladin reported, accessing the system to allow it to appear on the main screen. “It's from Earth.”

“From Shiro?” Keith asked, stepping out from behind his controls.

“Not exactly.” The two stations connected and suddenly Matt Holt's face was on the main screen, face pale and eyes panicked. He was clearly inside Ivy's cockpit, a fact that caught everyone by surprise.

“Matt -” Allura began, but he quickly cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“Let me get all of this out,” he rapidly said. “I don't have a lot of time; they'll send ships out to look for me as soon as they realize I haven't returned to the Garrison.” He paused to take a deep breath. “Shiro and Katie have been placed under arrest at the Garrison, and scientific crews are trying to break through Sora's force field. Katie was able to reach me through the bond with Ivy to let me know what's going on, and we're on our way to a safe place right now.” He snorted in disgust. “I can't tell you where we're going in case this communication is being monitored, but that's not important anyway. You need to know that the World Military Command has rejected our request to begin a defense of the planet -” Loud gasps drowned out his next few words. “ - want to get control of the Lions. Katie and Shiro are stuck, and I imagine my dad is as well. Bottom line is the sooner you guys can get here the better.” A burst of static affected the sound and the picture, and then the communication cut out as abruptly as it had begun.

“Get him back, Lance!” Allura ordered.

“I'm trying!” was the frustrated reply. The sound of his fingers flying over his control panel was loud in the bridge's sudden stillness, then he sighed. “I can't get the line open again. Matt cut it completely from his end. And before you ask me I can't even get a location fix on Ivy, so he must have cut that as well.” He looked around the room before his shell-shocked eyes connected with Allura's. “We've lost contact with our team on Earth,” he finally gasped out with a shudder.

“What the hell?!” burst out of Keith. He dragged his hands through his hair, tugging a little in frustration. “What the hell?” he repeated, much quieter.

Hunk looked worried. “Arrested?” he asked, voice shaky. “Why would Commander Iverson arrest them?”

Lance grunted. “Because he's a shit stain on the surface of the world who knows how to hold a grudge like it's nobody's business,” he answered in a harsh, angry tone. “He can't let go of what Pidge did in making a fool of him.” He laughed a little. “Of course, the rest of us had a pretty good go at making him look foolish as well, so. . .”

“He's also a petty, unimaginative autocrat who probably resented what he would have viewed as Shiro's and Pidge's interference in his little kingdom,” Keith added. “If they advised beginning preparations for defense he would argue the opposite simply out of spite.”

Allura was aghast but it was Kolivan who spoke up. “Who is this man that you speak of so disparagingly?” Hunk gave him a quick, simplified explanation of the military structure of the Garrison and added in a few anecdotes of their own experiences with Iverson as cadets. Kolivan took a minute to process it all before shaking his head. “Such a person should never be in charge of educating the next generation,” he said. “One who can not trust those that will follow in his footsteps is not worthy to lead.”

“Yeah, well, you'll get no argument from me,” Lance piped up from across the room. “But the really important question is what are we going to do about this?”

“No, the question is what _can_ we do about it,” Keith put in. “Do we have enough fire power on our own to not only fight whatever Galra presence is on Earth but the World Military Command as well?” He shrugged when everyone looked his way. “I'm just saying we have to consider all of the possibilities.”

Hunk hummed for a moment, the noise pulling everyone's attention to him. “You're thinking,” Lance accused, looking at his friend through narrowed eyes. “It's a little scary when you start to think.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Hunk laughed. “But hear me out.” He turned to look directly at Keith. “I honestly believe the last thing we need to worry about is firepower. Once we're all united -”

“Haven't you been paying attention?” Keith interrupted. “Shiro and Pidge are under arrest, and the Garrison's best tech experts are going to do everything they can to break through and all but dissect Sora! How the hell can we reunite and form -” His words stopped as suddenly as if bitten off, and then, to everyone's surprise, he started laughing. And not the usual Keith-style tight-lipped half-chuckle, but a full blown, hearty belly laugh.

Hunk smiled in response. “Now you're getting it.”

Lance looked back and forth between his two teammates, still confused. “I'm missing something, aren't I?”

“Think about it, Lance,” Hunk declared. “It'd be the simplest thing in the world for Shiro, Pidge, and Sora to escape from whatever 'under arrest' means. If they're staying put it's because they've chosen to do so, which means. . .”

“They're waiting for us, dumbass,” Keith spoke, a little breathless from his laughing fit. “They're waiting for Voltron.”


	19. Arrival

Allura brushed her hands down the skirt of her dress, hoping that the action disguised how nervous she was. She caught Coran's eye and felt a rush of affection at his encouraging smile, giving him a nod in response. He entered the room where they were conducting the meeting, followed by Lance and Hunk, both of whom laid hands on her shoulders as they passed.

Finally the only two people remaining in the corridor were her and Keith. He picked an imaginary speck of lint off of the red epaulette on his uniform, and she was strangely gratified to see his hand shake slightly. “Nervous?” she joked, hoping to inject a little humor into the situation.

Keith glared at her. “No more than you,” he finally sighed, clasping his hands together behind his back. “I'm not so sure about being looked at as the commander of the Voltron Force, however temporarily.” He turned away from her and pushed a hand through his hair. “I'm not comfortable speaking for Shiro. I mean, what if my opinion and input is the exact opposite of what he would do in this situation, and when we all get to Earth he overrules everything?”

“You're a smart leader and a skilled tactician, Keith,” the princess replied, moving closer to him and clasping his elbow. “And considering most of that was learned from Shiro I think it's unlikely that he'd disagree with anything you might suggest.” She smiled. “But if it makes you feel better you're not the only one who feels this way. Even though they only know him by reputation I'm worried about what all of those men will think of me compared to my father.” Her laugh was forced. “Having this meeting in the grand audience chamber doesn't help; I haven't set foot in that room since I woke up from stasis to learn my father was ten thousand years dead and I had five new Paladins on my doorstep.”

Keith laid his hand over hers where it was still on his arm. “You're going to be great,” he whispered. “You have more support than maybe you realize, so don't worry about a thing. Just go in there and give 'em hell.” He shifted her hand off of his arm and took a step toward the door of the audience chamber.

“Keith, wait! I. . .” Whatever Allura wanted to say disappeared amidst the embarrassed flush that darkened her cheeks as her eyes flickered nervously about the hall, alighting anywhere but on the Red Paladin's face. He waited patiently, one eyebrow quirked. “I. . . I just wanted you to know that. . . well, if I were ever to choose to try to get over my horror at the thought of marrying a Galra I'd want that Galra to be you.” She laughed a little awkwardly. “I didn't want to leave things between us where they were after that last conversation,” she concluded, voice barely above a whisper.

He turned back to face her, face an expressionless mask. The longer he stared at her the more Allura needed to resist the urge to fidget under his gaze, but then he abruptly stepped closer and took her hand in one of his, the other smoothly cupping her face. “If marriage is the result of my being outed as an heir of the Galra royal family I'd want it to be with you, too.” He leaned in and kissed her; a soft, quick brush of lips. “But we have more important things to think about right now,” he concluded with a smile, releasing her and stepping back again.

She returned the grin. “Soooo, discussion tabled?”

“For now.”

They both moved closer to the doors, stepping in unison. Keith laid a hand on the smooth wood, ready to push it open, but stopped at Allura's quick intake of breath. He turned and met her gaze. “You're fine, you'll be great,” he spoke softly. “We have our plan, and no reason to think they won't agree with it.” One corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. “And no reason to delay presenting it.”

The door opened with a slight creaking of its hinges, making Allura wince. Keith stepped over the threshold and very deliberately moved aside so that she was in full view of the gathering. As she stepped into the room those assembled rose to their feet in acknowledgment, an act that admittedly surprised her. But it also cheered her, so she lifted her head and with it at that proud angle crossed the room to sit in one of the two empty seats between Coran and Lance, keeping her eyes straight ahead when Keith slid into the chair beside hers.

“Gentlemen,” she began, folding her hands together on the table. “I'm sure you all know why we're meeting today so I won't belabor that point. There is, however a piece of news from Sector X-9-Y that you all need to be apprised of.” She gestured to Hunk, who rose to his feet and cleared his throat.

“So, uh. . .” He cleared his throat again, a barely perceptible flush creeping up his neck. “You all know that you're here because we asked for help when our two comrades detected the presence of Druids and Galra drones on Earth. At the time the call for help was issued we had expectations that the World Military Command – the organization that coordinates defense of our planet – would be more than willing to do their part. Well. . . It's. . .”

“They're not going to do squat,” Lance interjected, voice tinged with a mix of anger and disgust.

The Galra commanders all looked stunned, but Borkas was the only one who spoke. “Why?! What possible reason could they have for ignoring such a threat?”

Allura looked to Keith, who picked up the explanation. “It's mostly speculation, but the three of us -” he gestured to Hunk and Lance “ - believe that petty, personal issues are a factor.” He gave a succinct, and unemotional, summary of the relationship between all of the Paladins and Commander Iverson. “So you can imagine how willing he was to help us in any way,” was the final, scornful conclusion.

“You are neglecting what may be the most salient point,” Kolivan spoke up, exchanging a look with Keith before turning to the rest of the group. “Two of the Lions are on Earth, including the Black Lion. This Iverson and the World Military Command are most likely harboring hopes of gaining access to that technology, and perhaps even getting control of the Lions themselves.”

The room erupted after that announcement, with many of the older Galra expressing contempt for the Earthlings. They knew full well how difficult such a quest was, having all witnessed how Zarkon's obsession with the Lions had all but ruined him. The younger ones were surprised and a little incredulous. “I don't understand,” one of the youngest, a new commander named Mabor, said. “Why do you all think it so strange that they would want these things?”

“It's not strange that they would want any of it,” Coran explained, a tiny smile causing his lips to twitch. “It's strange that they actually think they can get them.”

Allura caught Mabor's eye and smiled, taking pity on him. “The Lions are not just ships, not just pieces of technology,” she explained. “They have life forces and souls and sentience, just like you and I do. No one can get to the heart of a Lion without that Lion choosing them. That's why they bond with their Paladins. And why the World Military Command of Earth will have no chance of penetrating any of their secrets.”

“But it also lead us to the main thing that we need to discuss,” Keith added, bringing the conversation back on topic. “The fact that our warnings and requests for defense are being ignored needs to be a factor in how we plan to approach the situation, given that we will more than likely be outnumbered.” He saw Allura fidget in her seat out of the corner of his eye and decided to take the next step himself. “Once we arrive on Earth all five Lions and Paladins will be reunited, which means -”

Voltron. He didn't even need to say it, judging by the looks on their faces everyone at the table understood.

Borkas was the first to react. “The terms of the truce forbade the formation of Voltron,” he said to accompanying nods from many of the other Galra present.

“Those were the terms of a truce that technically expired months ago,” Allura replied. “A truce that was never renewed under the same terms and conditions.”

“You're suggesting that you be freed from that constraint,” Daubin, the overall commander-in-chief of the Galra forces present said. “Despite the ongoing negotiations for a new truce or a permanent peace.”

Allura simply nodded. “If the prohibition against forming Voltron was so important to you why did your negotiators not insist on that provision remaining in force while we worked out a new agreement?” She looked toward Coran, who gave a barely perceptible nod. “We would have agreed to that with no hesitation at the time.”

The room all but exploded with noise; angry voices all raised in protest and argument. It went on for several minutes before Keith slammed his hands down on the table with a loud crack. “ENOUGH!” he shouted, startling everyone, especially Allura. He couldn't fight the glare that he shot her way, and she understood well enough to look sheepish. He took a deep breath before continuing, wanting his next words to come out as calmly as possible.

“We can debate the issue of the truce and the current negotiations until we're all exhausted, but at some future point,” he said, getting to his feet as he did. “Right now the only thing we need to focus on is how we're going to fight the upcoming battle, and the fact of the matter is – like it or not – Voltron will very likely be needed.”

The Galra commanders all exchanged looks, except for Kolivan, who kept his gaze on the tabletop. Finally, after a few hurried whispers, Daubin spoke again.

“We can withdraw our support for this venture.” he said, menacingly. “I have every reason to believe the Council will see things as we do with regard to the truce, and as such will not condemn any of us.” He got to his feet when he finished speaking, followed by most of the others. Only Kolivan and Borkas remained in their chairs.

“Yes, you could leave,” Keith agreed, words breaking the charged silence in the chamber. “But you won't.” He glanced around the room, finally staring down Daubin. “You know exactly why the Council and President Skolark agreed to help us with this, and you're not going to risk the damage to any of your reputations. You _need_ to prove that you're serious about moving forward after Zarkon's death, the rebellion, and that farce of a trial that ended with those Druids being executed. You also want to avoid being seen as the weaker faction amidst all of the in-fighting, and the only way you can do that is by keeping your word and doing what you can to eliminate the threat on Earth.” He smiled, but there was a definite chill in the expression. “So you're going to accept that Voltron will be a part of this operation, and you're damned sure not going to bitch about it.”

The tension that followed the Red Paladin's pronouncement was thick enough to choke a Weblum, but it all broke when harsh laughter was heard in the chamber. Every eye in the place lighted on Kolivan, who was undeniably the source of it. He had to struggle to calm himself enough to speak, laser-focused on Daubin as he did. “I believe the Earth expression for what just happened is 'You got schooled!'.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

When Ivy dropped Matt off in the safe location suggested by Shiro he was confused and disoriented for a few minutes. Once the message from Pidge had been received the Lion had taken over, rocketing them high up in the atmosphere and flying at top speed halfway around the world, only to nosedive (a maneuver that had Matt screaming in terror) more or less straight into a mountain. The landing had been so abrupt that it had bounced him right out of the pilot's chair, and all things considered he was absurdly glad to not be vomiting.

Once he was on the ground she delivered directions to his final destination through the bond before settling herself on the ground and powering up the force field. Matt briefly contemplated staying with the Lion, but rejected the idea as impractical. While it was true that each Lion had emergency supplies of food and water stored he had no way on knowing how long they'd be hiding away, and using up all of the stored items wouldn't be a good idea. Plus the emergency supplies wouldn't include a change of clothes or a toothbrush, two things that he was conspicuously lacking.

So instead he set off down the mountain, following the path that Ivy had helpfully planted in his mind. He wasn't exactly sure what he would find at the end of it, since Katie had forcefully pushed him out of that part of her conversation with the Lion, but he knew it would be safe. If there was one person in the world he trusted more than his sister it was Shiro, and between the two of them they'd never steer him wrong.

At the bottom of the mountain the path led through a wood, shaded by the overhanging trees. Matt blinked when he emerged back into the sunlight, surprised at where he was. A cluster of buildings backed onto a lake that he could just see through some of the trees. Immediately in front of him was a bright red arch, the top piece of which had ends that flared out almost like a bird's wings. He knew this place, had seen pictures of it in Shiro's dorm room during their days at the Garrison, and he let out a sigh of relief. It'd be difficult to imagine a safer place to hide than this; a Shinto shrine deep in the mountains of northeastern Japan.

With a smile he passed through the archway (the _torii_ , he remembered Shiro calling it) and then stopped, wracking his brain to remember everything he had ever been told about Japanese culture and Shinto rituals. Should he bow? Remove his shoes? No, that was only when going inside. He felt awkward standing like an oaf in what was a sacred space and thought about just starting to bow at random when a voice spoke from somewhere to his right.

“You're welcome to the shrine no matter what,” the half-joking voice said. “This is intended to be a place of peace for everyone, no matter their beliefs.”

Matt turned his head and his eyes fell on an oddly familiar figure. He narrowed his eyes, trying to place where he had seen the man before, when it hit him. He hadn't seen this man, but he had seen a teenage version; again, in pictures that Shiro had kept in his dorm. “You're Tohoku,” he blurted out, grinning. “Shiro's cousin.”

The man facing him had the same dark hair and piercing grey eyes, but he stood at least a head shorter. He was at least one and a half times broader, though, as if to make up for it. And then he smiled, making the resemblance undeniable. “I am,” he said in accented English. “And judging by your appearance you must be Pidge's brother.” he inclined his head in a sort-of bow before sticking out a hand. “A pleasure, Matt.”

Matt clasped the hand in his, giving a firm shake. The welcome and the comfort he felt in his surroundings was almost enough to make him forget why he was there, but then it all rushed back and he found himself spilling the entire story in Tohoku's sympathetic ears. The priest listened without comment, if one discounted the raised eyebrows and flush of anger on his cheeks. When Matt finally finished he was quiet, carefully thinking. One minute stretched into two, and then three, before Tohoku finally spoke up.

“Where is Ivy now?”

Matt cocked his head toward the mountain behind them. “About halfway up, in a clearing surrounded by forest. I gather it was where she and Sora stayed when they were here before.”

“Hmmm,” Tohoku grunted before setting off toward one of the buildings. “Give me five minutes to change clothes and then we're going up to bring her down. I know of a better place, much closer to the temple. She's small enough that I don't think it'll be a problem to fit.”

Two hours later the pair of them were lounging in the shade provided by Ivy's body, trying to relax after the stressful trip down off the mountain. Matt had said it was probably best not to fly, so all three had walked, the Lion picking her way carefully down a path that was barely wide enough for one of her paws. It had been worth it, in the end, even if the two humans were exhausted.

The grumbling of his stomach pulled Matt out of his thoughts as he sheepishly chuckled, Tohoku grinned and rose to his feet, pulling the younger man up after him. “Come on. If I know my mom she'll have cooked enough to feed an army. We can at least get you well fed before you come back out here.”

Matt started at that comment. “How. . . How did you know?”

“I figured you'd want to stay close to Ivy in case any of the others tried to contact you.” He glanced up at the Lion then back at Matt's rather bedraggled appearance. “But first we'll get you some food, a bath, and a change of clothes, That way if anything does happen you'll be more than ready to face it.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Airlocks all secure, Princess.”

“Are all the other ships within the established radius?” Allura asked, looking anxiously at the main display.

“They are,” Coran responded, cycling through the images on the screen to show their tiny fleet clustered around the Castle. The com system at Lance's station was beeping continuously as each ship acknowledged their readiness. Allura took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax.

“You're ready for this,” a quiet voice spoke immediately behind her, just loud enough for her ears. She turned her head and met Keith's gaze. “I know it's the biggest jump you've ever done, both in number of ships and distance to travel, but you can do this.” A smile quirked his lips. “We all believe in you.”

Allura glanced around the bridge, letting her eyes briefly rest on each member of the crew. Both Hunk and Lance grinned – Lance adding a thumbs up – and Coran looked like he was about to cry (if he didn't burst with pride first). Even Kolivan, who had taken to manning Shiro's station, had a less-than-stern expression on his face. She felt an up-swelling of affection for all of them, and a renewed determination. She looked back at Keith with a nod of thanks before turning to face front again, resting her hands easily on the teludav controls.

“Departure on my mark,” she said, voice clear and confident. “Five. . . four. . . three. . . two. . . one. . .” Her eyes closed as she summoned up her energy. “Mark!”

The wormhole opened and all the ships immediately moved toward it, each disappearing as it came within range of the teludav's effect. Allura squeezed her eyes shut tighter, focusing with all of her mind and body on the trip, the longest one she had ever attempted. Then, with a gasp, her eyes opened and her hands fell from the controls as she staggered back, knees weak.

Keith was there to catch her before she fell and together they looked at the main screen, which was showing a shimmering blue planet dotted with patches of brown and green and puffy tufts of the purest white. The Red Paladin exhaled, and when he spoke to the entire fleet there was an unmistakable catch in his voice.

“Welcome to Earth.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Wait, wait, wait! Just let me make one more adjustment!”

“Pidge,” Shiro groaned out, voice strained as he held off the training droid that seemed intent on taking his head off. “Just hurry it up, okay?” He staggered into empty space when the droid suddenly moved back and away from him.

“Fast enough for you?” Pidge asked, smirk firmly in place.

Shiro focused for a moment so that his cybernetic arm could power down. “Fast enough,” he agreed with a grin as he crossed the training room that Iverson had “graciously” allowed them to use and sat on the floor beside her. “So how was that, sensei?”

“Not bad, not bad,” Pidge commented, checking a few readouts on the datascreen. “I think we can consider it the final test.” She laid a hand on his arm. “How did it feel on your end? No pain or anything?”

“None at all. I'd almost say it felt good except for, you know, the memory of how I got the damn thing.” He flexed his fingers. “That does kind of put a damper on my enthusiasm, but otherwise -”

His words ended abruptly as a loud boom echoed through the room and shook the walls. Both of them jumped to their feet. “What was that?” Pidge asked, falling against Shiro as the room shook again. The quickly left the room and made their way up one floor to the observation deck, surprised to find it empty but for Commander Iverson and a few of the professors that supported him without question.

“YOU TWO!” Iverson shouted as soon as he spotted them. “You're behind this, don't pretend otherwise!”

Shiro was about to protest that they had no clue what was going on when he heard Sora roar, but not in anger. This was an exultant welcome, and as they watched the Black Lion appeared over the buildings to the right of the main facility and landed just outside the Garrison's gates. Three quick flashes of light appeared, and he was suddenly joined by Eldur, Maji, and Lupa, all of whom vocalized their joy at the reunion, shattering the windows on the observation deck and causing everyone to duck and turn away from the flying glass.

And Shiro and Pidge recovered themselves just in time to witness the Castle of Lions gently touch down on the desert sands.


	20. Shocks

Pidge was convinced that Allura had used her Altean chameleon abilities to ensure that she could look down (way down) her aristocratic nose at Commander Iverson.  Between that and the cold contempt of the Princess's voice it was a wonder Iverson wasn't cowering in a corner.  But the man never did know when it was in his best interest to work with someone, and that was especially true whenever he had to deal with women.

“. . . and frankly we were expecting this threat to be taken seriously here on Earth,” Allura was saying when Pidge tuned back into the conversation.  “It's rather disappointing that we've arrived to find no preparations or plans for a planet-wide defense, even though we know that you have the capability for that.”

Keith bent his head to hide the smirk he couldn't prevent and from the look on his face Pidge could tell that Lance was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.  They were both fair reactions, of course, since the only reason Allura knew anything about the Garrison and the World Military council was from her Earthling Paladins.  But she wasn't letting on to that fact at all, and Pidge seriously admired the poise with which she was manipulating the situation.

But what she really wanted to do was get this meeting over with so she could properly reunite with her teammates.  There hadn't been any time when the Castle had first landed, because Allura was in full command mode and determined to speak to the people that mattered, right then and there.  She had barely even acknowledged Pidge and Shiro when the entire group had entered the conference room.

“I expect you to have a meeting arranged with the heads of the World Military Council within the next two hours,” Allura was saying to Iverson, who had turned an uncomplimentary shade of purple.  “It needs to take place as soon as possible since we have no time to waste.”  And she turned her back to him and the other members of the Garrison's command, dismissing all of them with one gesture as she moved to hug her Black and Green Paladins.

Shiro was being mob-hugged by Lance, Hunk and Keith when Allura whispered in Pidge's ear “Are they gone yet?”.  Pidge chuckled and nodded her head, pushing away from the Princess slightly.  Hunk, Keith, and Lance transferred their attentions to her, Hunk even lifting her completely off of her feet, before everyone grew serious again.

“We need to talk, and more privately than I think we'll be able to do anywhere in this building.”  Her gesture encompassed the entire Garrison.  “I'm choosing to ignore that ridiculous 'house arrest' thing and taking the two of you back to the Castle, right now.”

Pidge couldn't remember ever being happier to hear words in her life.  And as soon as they crossed the threshold and were standing in the Castle's grand entry she let out a deep sigh and relaxed for the first time in what felt like years.  She glanced at Shiro standing beside her and chuckled when she saw him doing the exact same thing.  Then Hunk stepped between them and draped a heavy arm around each of them.

“Food first,” he announced with a grin.  “We can talk in the dining room.”

Shiro and Pidge exchanged a puzzled glance.  “But -” Shiro started to speak.

“Don't bother,” Keith broke in.  “You know what he's like, so just go along with it.”

Once all of the food and dishes were cleared away Allura cast Hunk a fond glance as everyone else sighed in repletion.  “Well, now that the preliminaries are over I suggest we begin,” she said, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.  “First of all we need some proper introductions.”  She went on to introduce Kolivan and Antok to Pidge and Shiro, who both accepted the Blade of Marmora without question.  She also explained that the rest of the Galra commanders, and all of their ships, had stayed in orbit.  “It seemed like a good idea to not overwhelm your planet at first.”

“Especially since Iverson's been ignoring the threat,” Lance added with a scowl.  “Too much would have made us look like the aggressors.”  He laughed softly.  “Not that Maji, Eldur, Lupa, and the Castle aren't pretty overwhelming on their own.”

“Which brings us to the main question that needs to be answered,” Coran spoke up for the first time.  “Where are Ivy and Matt?  When he managed to contact us with the news of your arrest he said he was heading to a safe place to avoid Iverson and the World Military Council but he didn't tell us where, exactly.”

“He's in Japan,” Shiro answered, grinning.  “Specifically Miyagi.  Even more specifically at my family's temple in the mountains north of Sendai.  It's probably the safest place on the planet, since not even the Garrison knows about it.”

“And Ivy definitely stayed with him?” Allura asked.

Pidge nodded.  “It seemed like the best way to go, considering our main motive was to keep Ivy safe and away from being trapped at the Garrison like Sora was.”

“Have you heard from Matt since all of this went down?” Hunk asked, looking worried.  It had been nearly four days, after all.

“Not directly, but I know they're safe,” Pidge replied.  “I've kept part of my bond with Ivy open and flowing since they left so I'd immediately know of any problems.”

Everyone seemed to breathe easier after that assurance, except for Keith.  He was fidgeting in his seat and he kept glancing between Allura and Kolivan, looking alternately confused and expectant.  Pidge glanced at Shiro out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had also noticed this odd behavior.  He shook his head the tiniest bit and shrugged.

Keith caught the exchange between the two of them and flushed.  “I suppose we need to tell you guys about something else that we've discovered,” he said, sounding like that was the absolute last thing he wanted to do.

“I don't think this is necessary right now, Keith,” Allura put in, reaching out and laying a hand over his where they were clasped together on the table.

He shook his head and carefully, but definitively, withdrew his hands from hers.  “If not now then when?” he asked.  “This is information that could have an impact on how we approach the rest of this battle, and the entire team deserves to know.”

Kolivan grumbled deep in his throat but didn't otherwise respond.  Hunk pushed his chair back from the table, metaphorically removing himself from the discussion, but Lance leaned forward, arms on the table.  “I don't think knowing will change the way Shiro and Pidge regard the situation,” he said, looking directly at Keith, “but the final choice is yours.  If you believe it's important that this get aired out then I'll not say anything against it.”

“All right, at this point you  _ have _ to tell us what's going on before I die of curiosity,” Pidge put in with a smile.  She glanced at Shiro, who had a gentle, loving smile on his face.  “And after you do we have a bit of news to share as well.”

“If it's that the two of you finally figured out your feelings for each other and are doing something about it. . .  Well, that's hardly news,” Hunk stated in the blandest tone he could conjure up.  Lance, Keith, and Allura all laughed, and even Coran couldn't contain his grin.

Pidge and Shiro both flushed to the roots of their hair but didn't deny the conclusion.  The laughter managed to relax the atmosphere, though, and Keith seemed more comfortable with whatever it was he felt needed to be told.  He glanced at Kolivan, who simply nodded his agreement.  Shiro noticed the exchange between them and turned his full attention to Keith.  “Okay, I think that's enough wavering on the subject.  So whatever it is you have to tell us, Keith, I suggest getting on with it.”

Keith sighed and pushed his hands through his hair.  “It's tough to decide where to start.”

“Would it help if I did the job?” Kolivan asked, sounding somewhat diffident.  Respectful, even.  And that respect was directed at Keith, for some reason.  Pidge felt her eyebrows start to rise, and she was about to speak when Lance broke in, dropping a conversational boulder into the room.

“Oh, for pity's sake,” he began, the eye roll audible in his voice.  “We found out that not only is Keith half-Galra but he is the legitimate heir to the throne, and we suspect that Councilor Skolark is manipulating the situation with an eye to using Keith to seal an alliance through marriage.”

The silence that followed was loud in its own way.  Pidge clenched her jaw to keep it from dropping and making her gape like a gaffed fish, but Shiro had no such presence of mind.  “Uhhh. . .”

“Shit, Lance, where the hell did you learn discretion!” Hunk hissed out, smacking his friend on the back of the head.

“He obviously didn't,” Keith growled, glaring daggers at the Blue Paladin before turning to Shiro and Pidge.  “But in a way what he did was a good thing, because now it's out there.”

“Yeah, well, you aren't leaving it like that,” Pidge groused.  “I want to hear the story – the whole story – and I'm willing to bet it's a doozy.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

It was hours later and Shiro was unable to sleep.  It wasn't because of feeling stressed and uncomfortable; those feelings had fallen off of his shoulders as soon as he had set foot back in the Castle.  But his mind couldn't settle, not after everything that he had learned that day.

His wandering brought him to the training deck and he entered, thinking that a bit of a workout would get his exhausted body to override his overactive mind.  But the deck was already occupied, and a part of Shiro was completely unsurprised to find Keith there.  He walked to one of the control panels and pressed the appropriate buttons, watching as two staffs rose out of the floor.  Keith started at the sound, but gamely took hold of one of the weapons and assumed the proper stance in the center of the room.

They bowed to each other in acknowledgment and then Shiro attacked, swinging his staff in a low arc aimed at Keith's knees.  The Red Paladin blocked it easily and used the momentum to spin himself around, slashing at Shiro's shoulders.  The taller man used an overhead strike to knock the blow askew, then took advantage of the follow-through to catch Keith with a hit to the elbow.  They glared at each other over the crossed weapons before jumping away and dancing back from each other.

“Not the best idea,” Keith breathed out as they circled around, “fighting instead of getting me to talk.”

“Who cares about talk?” Shiro queried, making a feint to his opponent's left side before backing off again.  “I just want to exhaust myself enough to sleep.”

Keith jabbed forward with the staff and twisted behind Shiro, landing a strike between his shoulder blades.  “And why do you think you can't sleep tonight?”  He came around and went for another blow but Shiro caught the staff with his cybernetic arm, twisting to drop its free end to the floor and throwing Keith off balance.  “Maybe your brain is still buzzing with all these revelations about me and you're trying to decide if our friendship is still worth anything?”

Shiro's jaw dropped open and his hold on the staff slackened.  “Why would you think, for even a minute, that I'd decide our relationship was no longer worth having?”

“I don't know, Shiro, maybe because I have the blood in me of the bastards that gave you that damned arm!” Keith shouted, spinning away and throwing the staff across the deck.  It landed with a clatter loud enough to make Shiro flinch, and he dropped his own weapon, reacting just in time to catch the punch Keith threw his way.  They stood, locked together and straining, each against the other's strength, until Keith let out a gusty sigh and folded to his knees, shoulders shaking and breathing strained.

It took a minute for his heart and mind to catch up, but finally Shiro sank down to the floor beside his friend, awkwardly patting him on the back.  When the shuddering stopped and his breathing eased Keith lifted his head.  “Sorry,” he whispered.  “I know I'm being stupid, but I can't help it.  I keep expecting -”

“Keith, no one that matters is going to reject you because of this,” Shiro said, trying to sound both assertive and comforting at the same time, “least of all me.”  He squeezed the other's shoulder.  “You're my brother, no matter what, through thick and thin, etc., etc.  You know that, right?”

Keith's laugh was tinged with sadness.  “With my head I do.  It's my heart that's the problem.”  He got to his feet slowly, moving like an arthritic old man.  “Plus I don't even know if something is expected of me, and that uncertainty is driving me batty.  Well, that and Allura seems torn about the whole thing, which isn't exactly making our relationship easier.”

“Your. . . relationship?”

“Oh,  _ quiznack _ !” Keith growled.  “Shit.  Forget I said anything.”

One corner of Shiro's mouth twitched before blossoming into a full-fledged grin.  “Well, that reaction pretty much tells me what I need to know.”  He gave his head a shake.  “I'm guessing  there are still a few things I don't know about what you guys all got up to while I was a hostage.”

“I'll tell if you tell what's been going on with you and Pidge since you've been here on Earth.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

The next day they took the Castle up into orbit so Shiro and Pidge could meet the rest of the Galra commanders.  Pidge, perhaps predictably, took something of an instant dislike to Daubin, the commander-in-chief of the Galra forces, who managed to make his negative opinion of the entire situation known while barely saying a single word.  Shiro noticed the looks the Galra kept shooting Keith - a combination of anger, disgust, contempt, and fear – and he leaned closer to his friend and teammate.  “I'm guessing I probably don't want to know what that is all about,” he whispered, cocking his head in Daubin's direction.

Keith's grin was positively feral.  “Trust me, you don't.”

Coran glared at the two of them from across the table, so with sheepish grins they subsided back in their chairs.  Shiro knew he needed to pay extra attention to the conversation to get caught up on what little strategy had been planned before they all arrived on Earth.  Which wasn't much, admittedly, and that was a little disappointing.  He caught Allura's eye and she shrugged and rolled her eyes, quickly shaking her head before turning back to the conversation.

Which was winding down already, with Borkas giving the final report about the readiness of the medical teams he commanded.  But no further details about any sort of strategy for confronting the Druid threat.  Instead nearly every head at the table turned toward Shiro, apparently expecting some great wisdom to fall from his lips.

“Ummm. . .”

Pidge snickered beside him.  “Brilliant, as always,” she opined, and just like that most of the tension left the room and a general discussion of the best way to approach the situation began.  Daubin stayed aloof from all of it, but that fact didn't seem to deter anyone else.  The youngest Galra commander, in particular, was animated and enthusiastic about the entire process.

Allura seemed surprised at how quickly the talk and ideas were flowing, and she hated to interrupt it but she really did want Shiro's thoughts on how to handle things, so she coughed loudly, waiting for silence to fall in the room.  “I'm sure I'm not the only person who is interested in what you might have to say, Shiro.”

With all the eyes in the room turned to him Shiro began with what was the  most obvious step.  “Well, I think the most important thing right now is to confirm exactly what we're dealing with.  Our previous attempt ended in failure, and as you know we've not been able to mount another one.”  He paused for a moment's thought.  “I suspect that part of the problem was the fact that we were in the Lions; the drones that we detected may have been programmed to automatically react with resistance to any Altean technology.”

“The reports mentioned something similar to the Komar,” Kolivan added, his calm voice filling the room.  “I'm assuming you didn't get close enough to confirm that?”

Shiro had to laugh at the deadpan tone.  “It's not always the best idea to get too close to things that are trying to kill you,” he replied with a grin, “but I'm ninety per cent certain it was a version of the Komar.”

“If you're right that will make things easier,” the youngest Galra, Mabor, commented.  “The Komar – or something similar – requires a tremendous output of specifically modified quintessence.”  He glanced at Daubin, who scowled but motioned for the other commander to continue.  “If we calibrate our sensors to that particular setting we should be able to detect something from orbit, mitigating the risk of getting too close.”

“I think under the circumstances that is the best option,” Allura said, careful to meet Daubin's eyes as she spoke.  “Your scans will no doubt be more effective than ours since you have a better idea of what you're looking for.”  She turned to the Green Paladin.  “Pidge, I want you to provide Mabor and whoever he gets to help him with any assistance you can, especially the coordinates of the last incident.”  She got to her feet and everyone else followed a moment later.  “We'll come up with a more specific strategy once we have all the information at our disposal.”

In the end it didn't take very long to fix the sensors, and Mabor even put together a special adapter unit that could be used in the Castle.  He and Pidge got along like a house afire, swapping stories about engineering snafus, jury-rigging devices, and computer hacking (although Mabor had a different name for it) the entire time they worked.  Before three hours passed they were back on board the Castle and enlisting Coran's help to get everything squared away.  There were a few tense moments in the control room when they started the scan, and then. . .

“Are you sure these coordinates are correct?” Mabor asked

Pidge nodded.  “I even double-checked everything to make sure.”  She took a look at her own sensor panel, which was set to scan for the spectrometer reading they'd been chasing since coming to the Garrison.  She frowned, and scrolled through several screens.  “That can't be right,” she muttered.

“What can't be right?” Keith asked, brow furrowing in concern.  “Pidge?”

She turned to Mabor, who was shaking his head.  “There's nothing there,” she finally responded.  “And I mean nothing.  No drones, no quintessence, no remnants of anything.”

“What?!” Shiro shouted.  “How?  Is that even possible?”

“Under normal circumstances I'd say no,” Mabor commented.  “Even the use of the tiniest amount of quintessence leaves traces, sometimes years after the fact.  How they could have scrubbed their presence away so effectively. . .”

“That's assuming there was ever anything there in the first place,” Daubin all but snarled, turning to Allura.  “If this was some sort of ruse -”

“There was something there,” Coran chimed in, sounding angry at the implied slight.  “We have the records from the infrared scan that was done, and it won't take long to download the GPR images from Sora.”

“Pidge, can you pull back the focus of the scan?” Allura asked, her calm demeanor taking the steam out of the incipient argument.  “Maybe a wider view will help us see something we're missing.”

“How wide do you want to go?”

“Far enough to catch the entire planet.”

Pidge frowned and had a quick whispered conversation with Mabor.  “We can do it,” the young Galra replied, “but it will be in slices as we orbit and will take a little time.”

“Do it,” Allura commanded.  “I want to know exactly what we're dealing with.”

No one left the bridge as the scan went on; everyone was too invested in what was happening.  But with each section of the planet scanned with no results Daubin's smirk expanded and the tension grew.

The sudden loud beeping of an alert had everyone jumping, and Pidge and Mabor quickly checking their controls.  “That's it!”  The Galra exulted.  “We found. . . well, maybe not everything but at least evidence of something.”

“Put it up on the screen,” Shiro ordered.  “Let's see where it is.”

It took a moment to get the scan resolved into a map location, but as soon as it appeared Shiro blanched and darted to his station, slapping the button for the elevator that would take him to Sora's hangar.

Pidge swore when she saw the map, loudly and inventively.

“What is it?”  Allura asked.  “Where is that?”

Keith, who had also connected the dots, looked like he was about to be sick.  “It's Miyagi.  Shiro's home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm back at work on this one! It had a hiatus while I finished another WIP and fought off a couple of other plot bunnies, but I'm on a roll with it again. Chapter 21 is also complete and should be posted within the next couple of days after various proofreadings, and right now it looks like the complete work will be 23 chapters. Maybe 24. :D


	21. Rescued

Allura locked down the Castle to prevent Shiro from leaving without the rest of the team, ignoring all of his angry exclamations in favor of cold, almost impersonal logic.  “You can't go on your own,” she said in a bland tone of voice.  “In fact, it wouldn't be a good idea for you to go at all; Sora is bound to attract attention, even with the modified cloaking system.”

“What the hell does that matter?” Shiro practically shouted.  “They obviously already know that Ivy is there or they wouldn't be!”

“Actually. . .” Pidge put in with a deferential cough.  “Umm, Matt, Dad and I had worked out a way to not only cloak the Lions' physical bodies but to cover up their. . . well, spiritual presence as well.  It wasn't perfect, but we were planning to test it with Ivy when all Hell broke loose.  I can't imagine that Matt didn't try it as soon as he landed in Japan.”

Every pair of eyes in the room turned towards her, but Allura's were the only ones that didn't looked surprised.  Speculative would be a better word.  “You think that the Druids, and the drones they're using, don't know that Ivy is there,” she flatly stated.

Shiro's head moved back and forth between the two women so quickly it was a wonder it didn't snap off.  He finally stared so intently at Pidge that she flushed and swallowed hard.  “Do you honestly believe that Ivy's presence there is hidden?”

“I think there's a chance,” she clarified.  “The Druids could have simply relocated their operation because they know that region is special to you.” She felt the color drain from her face a split second after the words left her mouth.  “Although that makes it worse.”

“Yeah, it does,” was the reply as Shiro looked imploringly at Allura.  “Let me go.  Please.  My aunt and cousin are all the family I have.”

Allura looked uncertain, torn between what she knew was the best course of action and the desire to help the extended Paladin family.  Finally she took a deep breath and locked eyes with Pidge.  “Can you modify one of the other Lions with this extra cloaking?”

Pidge nodded.  “I can, but it's a small scale fix.  It'll probably only work on Eldur, since he's the same size as Ivy.”

Keith and Allura exchanged a look that no one else could read.  “How long to make the adjustments?” Keith asked after a brief, but uncomfortable, silence.

“An hour, maybe a little more.  It's just a programming enhancement of the existing cloak, so it doesn't require a lot of mechanical work.”  She glanced at the princess out of the corner of her eye.

“Do it,” Allura commanded.  She looked to Daubin.  “We'll move the Castle to a synchronous orbit over the site, but you should stay here until we have more definitive information.”

Daubin looked perfectly happy to agree with that, but Mabor fidgeted.  “Sir, may I have your permission to stay?” he asked.  “I believe that at this point in the mission my skills are of more benefit to the Voltron team.”

Pidge brightened and turned a hopeful face towards Allura, who allowed a small smile to grace her lips.  “I think Mabor may be right, at least as far as the technical things go,” she said to Daubin.  “Will you allow it?”  When the Galra commander nodded the princess turned to Mabor and Pidge.  “Well, get to work you two!” she ordered with a laugh.

The pair practically ran out of the room.  Keith shook his head with a smile.  “I'll go with them, shall I?” he asked.

“Absolutely.  And when the work is done you don't need to wait on orders; you and Pidge get to that temple and find Matt, Ivy, and Shiro's aunt and cousin right away.”  She looked stern, arms crossed over her chest.  “You do nothing else; no scans, no sensor readings, no nothing.  You get them out of there and out of potential danger.  Understood?”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“Do you really think this'll work?”

“Well, if nobody shoots at us when we get there that's a pretty good indication, don't you think?” Pidge replied, flipping through a data screen to monitor the modified cloaking system.  So far everything was functioning normally, but there was an odd power fluctuation that she couldn't account for, causing Keith to frown when she pointed it out to him.

“What might be causing it?” he asked.

“Based on a few things I've observed since arriving I'd say it's just the usual odd output of a Balmeran crystal on Earth, but. . .”  She gave her head a shake when he turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised.  “But there's something else to it that doesn't make sense.”

“Will the cloak hold until we can get to Miyagi and get them out?” Keith questioned, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

Pidge studied the data screen for a long moment.  “I believe so, but it wouldn't hurt to make this as quick as possible.”

“Can you communicate with Matt through Ivy and let him know we're on the way?”

“I can try, but direct communication might be tough at this distance; even tougher if the spiritual cloak is active.”  Pidge shut her eyes and breathed deeply, relaxing.  A line of concentration formed between her eyebrows before she shook her head.  “It's no good,” she said.  “I can feel both Matt and Ivy but nothing more substantial.  It could just be that they aren't together, of course.”  She got to her feet and leaned over the back of the pilot's chair, studying the readouts on the heads up display.  “How much longer?”

Keith checked a few controls and cycled through one of the screens.  “Probably about fifteen minutes.”  He glanced sidelong at Pidge.  “I don't want to use Eldur's full speed, since you said any sort if instability could disrupt this extra cloak.”

“Good thinking.”

“That's a surprisingly calm response from you, all things considered,” Keith commented, making a small adjustment to the Lion's course before turning to face his companion more directly.  “I thought you'd be freaking out or, at the very least, more visibly concerned.”

Pidge shrugged.  “It won't do any good.  Until we have more information – and I mean solid facts, not speculations – getting worked up will only create more problems.”

“And we already have more than enough, am I right?”

She shot Keith a quick sidelong glance before responding.  “You have one extra that none of the rest of us are faced with, though.  Want to talk about it?”

“Not at the moment, no,” Keith growled, fidgeting in his pilot's chair.  “I'd like to never discuss it, with anyone, but I know that's not an option.  But it can at least wait until we solve our most immediate issue.”  One of his hands twitched as if he wanted to reach for Eldur's sensor controls but Allura's admonition to do nothing that might endanger the operation was still in his ears.  “I hate going in blind like this,” he hissed.

“Let me try and connect with Ivy again,” Pidge suggested, laying a calming hand on his shoulder and grinning when he gave a half-hearted glare.  “It's better than nothing!”  When he nodded his assent she shut her eyes and breathed deeply, focusing her thoughts on her Lion, gasping in shock when Ivy’s panic-stricken thoughts connected to hers.  “Something’s wrong!” she exclaimed, clenching a hand on Keith’s shoulder.  “We need to go.  NOW!”

Her urgency was clearly communicated to Keith because he immediately kicked Eldur’s speed up to full, the extra cloak be damned.  They streaked through the air for the last two hundred or so miles, diving down at an uncomfortable angle, halting and hovering just above the temple complex.  The cause of Ivy’s panic was immediately apparent.

“Shit!” Keith breathed, quickly switching his display to Eldur’s weapon systems.

“Use the flames,” Pidge advised.  “Get rid of the largest number of them in the shortest amount of time.”

“Them” was an almost impossibly large number of Galra drone soldiers clustered in the temple’s courtyard and visibly coming closer from every direction.  Ivy was balanced, rather precariously, on the large torii gate at the entrance to the complex, holding off the approaching drones.  As soon as Keith and Pidge’s attention fixed on her Matt’s face bloomed on the communications screen.

“THANK GOD!” he shouted.  “I’ve been doing my best to hold them off until I could get to Keiko and Tohoku, but the bastards -” sounds of Ivy’s tail weapon firing “- just keep coming!”

“We’ll handle it, Matt,” Pidge replied.  “Where are Tohoku and Keiko right now?”

“In the dojo.  I thought it would be the safest place.”

“Got ‘em,” Keith put in, Eldur’s sensor display showing two human heat signatures in a building tucked away at the rear of the complex.  “Matt, get Ivy out of here.  The Castle is on the way, if they haven’t already arrived.”

“Geosynchronous orbit?” the elder Holt asked.

“Yes, now go!”

There was a clap like thunder as Ivy’s rear leg thrusters engaged and she took off, heading straight up into the sky.  Keith waited a bare second after she was clear of the area before letting the fire weapon loose on the drones immediately in front of them.   Most of them disintegrated on the spot, but more were coming, and fast.

“Go up,” Pidge instructed.  “Get above the dojo and we’ll extract them through the roof.”  She leaped from her seat and moved to the rear of the cockpit, opening the Lion’s belly door as she did.  As soon as they were above the building she jumped out, using the jetpacks on her armor to maneuver down until she could use her bayard to cut through the roof.  Keith pressed the button to drop the basket apparatus as Pidge disappeared through the hole she had made, the basket following right behind her.

Just a few minutes later she re-appeared, waving as she flew closer.  Keith activated the winch and waited, watching as Pidge steadied the basket through the hole.  Then she flew the rest of the way back to Eldur, skidding to halt in the cabin just as the basket arrived.  A group of drones were climbing on each other towards the roof of the dojo, so Keith didn’t hesitate.  The door was still closing as he leaped to the pilot’s chair to get them out of their precarious situation.

“Hang on!” Pidge instructed their two passengers as she fitted herself into the jump seat behind Keith.  A kick to the back of his chair let Keith know that everyone was secure, so he pulled back on the controls and sent Eldur back into the sky, flying as fast as the Lion was capable of.  They shot out of the atmosphere and into open space just as the Castle arrived.

“So much for a stealthy rescue,” Pidge chuckled as they made their way to the Castle just behind Ivy.

They heard something that sounded suspiciously like a sob from the cabin space.  “Success is better than stealth any day,” Tohoku said.  And although it was clear his mother was crying she made an undeniable sound of agreement.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“And you have no idea where they came from?” Allura asked for the third time.

It was a measure of how relieved he was to be out of a dangerous situation that Tohoku didn’t snap back.  He just shook his head and said “I was in the main building, in the center of the shrine.  When I got outside they were already everywhere.”

Matt shrugged when Allura turned her gaze to him.  “I woke up early and went to check on Ivy; by the time either of us realized something was wrong it was pretty much too late.”

“The first ones I saw came out of the lake.”

It was the first time Keiko had spoken since their abrupt arrival.  She had endured a medical scan from Coran, eaten the breakfast that Hunk had prepared, and then joined the rest of them in the lounge for the current discussion.  But she had been silent the entire time, leaning against Shiro as if to absorb some strength from him.  Now, with everyone’s attention suddenly on her, she flushed and sat up straighter, away from her nephew.

“Okaa-san?” Tohoku asked.

Keiko took a deep breath.  “I was on the porch of the guest house, going through some tai chi exercises,” she explained.  “I had gone to that building because I was missing Takashi, and that’s one of his favorite spots in the whole complex.  I had a clear view over the water, and those. . . things came out of the lake.”

“How many?” was Lance’s low-voiced question.

“Too many,” Keiko replied with a sad smile.  “I ran to the courtyard as fast as I could and saw others approaching from every direction.  Ivy flew in at that moment, and Matt told me to get to the dojo with Tohoku and stay there.  We could hear when the pair of them started to fight, but there were just so many.  Then Katie appeared through a hole in the roof, and. . . well, you know the rest.”

Allura looked to Mabor, who was sitting separated from everyone else.  “Is that possible?  Can those drones function underwater?”

Mabor shrugged.  “Under normal circumstances I’d say no, but given the things we’ve all recently learned about quintessence modifications it seems likely that water wouldn’t be an issue.”  He paused for a moment’s thought.  “It’d also be ideal to use on a planet like this, with so much water.”

“They were hiding underground in a desert when we first detected them,” Pidge put in.

“The standard drone - both soldier and fighter - programming is to seek concealment underground,” Mabor explained.  “Since the Druids didn’t know much about Earth before their arrival they probably fell back on that default.  Once they evaluated the situation further they changed the profile.”

“It wouldn’t have taken very long to do it, either,” Kolivan added.  “We’ve all seen how fast the quintessence modifications take hold.”

“So what’s our next step?” Keith queried.  “We can’t just leave things as they are; God only knows how many drones could be hiding in all the water that surrounds Japan.”

Shiro went rigid in his seat; Keiko laid a comforting hand on his arm but she, too, looked anxious.  Only Tohoku seemed more angry than anything else, and after the attack on he family shrine nobody could blame him.

“Before we get ahead of ourselves,” Matt spoke up for the first time “we should find out for sure.  Right now all we know for certain is there are drone soldiers in that lake.  We need to check the ocean before we do anything else.”

Pidge fidgeted in her seat.  “But we can only fully cloak both the physical and spiritual presence of Ivy and Eldur.”

Matt laughed.  “I think keeping our presence some sort of secret is the last thing to worry about right now.  All five Lions can operate underwater, right?”  When Allura nodded he went on.  “So we choose five points around the four main islands and send a Lion to each.  They all have those modified quintessence detectors, so we look for that instead of the direct presence of any drones.”

Pidge and Allura exchanged a glance, communicating without words.  “It’d be faster than almost any other scan we could do,” the Green Paladin finally said.

Allura rose to her feet and paced for a few moments, all eyes on her.  Finally she stopped and turned back to the group with an emphatic nod.  “Let’s do it.  Matt, you’ll go with your sister in Ivy.  Mabor, I want you with Lance in Maji.  We’ll bring the Castle down into the lower levels of the atmosphere for ease of communication and Kolivan, Coran, and I will coordinate from here.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“And why were we assigned to this location?”

Lance flipped through a few controls, waiting for the quintessence detector to fully power up.  “Well, Maji is the Guardian Spirit of Water so it makes sense for us to be in the area most likely to contain drones.  We can move the fastest and have the most maneuverability in water, which’ll come in handy if we find anything.”

They were in the ocean just off the coast of Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region and the area that Allura had pinpointed as the best chance of finding evidence.  Hunk and Lupa were to the north, exploring the waters around the island of Hokkaido.  Pidge, Matt, and Ivy were in Tokyo Bay with Keith and Eldur on the opposite side of Honshu, in the Sea of Japan.  And Shiro and Sora were in the far south, about as far as you could get from the waters of his home prefecture, checking around the smaller islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

There was a substantial amount of chatter going on as all of them were reporting to the Castle, but it was muted in Maji’s cockpit as Lance focused on the task in hand.  Even so Mabor noticed the never-ending flow of information and was impressed in spite of himself.  “So many things that you all do seem chaotic on the surface,” he said, musing.  “But I’m beginning to see that quite the opposite is true.  Your teamwork is so seamless as to be barely noticeable.”

Lance nodded.  “Well, it does take a lot of work, but we’ve been doing this for years.  Even while Shiro was in cryo-freeze we kept it up.”  He turned halfway in his seat and regarded his Galra companion.  “Is that why you wanted to stay with us?  To study our teamwork?”

Mabor’s face twisted in what could almost be called a grimace.  “Teamwork and cooperation aren’t exactly Galra attributes, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.  Even in a fleet like the one we brought with us there’s competition and rivalries and -”

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by the alarm that started blaring in the Lion’s cockpit.  The muted chatter in the com system came to a halt and Shiro’s voice sounded loud and clear.  “What’s going on, Lance?”

“Not sure,” the Blue Paladin replied, quickly accessing the sensor controls.  “I haven’t even scanned yet.”

“Passive sensors are picking up movement below us,” Mabor put in.  “Depth, thirty-one hundred.”

Lance whistled when he looked at the screen.  “That’s. . .”  His voice trailed off.

“A lot.  A  _ quiznacking _ lot.”

“Define ‘a lot’,” was Pidge’s comment

“Think of a massive swarm of bees and you might get the idea,” Lance responded, switching on the active sensors, hoping to get a better picture, but it was a vain hope.  “There’s so many of them even the active sensors can’t separate it out.”

“What are they doing?” Keith asked.

“Just. . . sort of milling around.  I don’t think they’ve noticed  _ SHIT _ !  They’re moving toward the surface now!”

“Get out of there, Lance!” Shiro ordered.  “We’ll converge on your location and draw them to open space.”

“You got it.”  Maji’s metallic body groaned with the stress as Lance turned him about and pulled up on the controls.  “You may get to see our best teamwork, up close and personal,” he half-joked to Mabor as they breached the surface of Sendai Bay.

“The best teamwork?”

“Get ready to be on the inside of Voltron.”


	22. Battle

Keith was, unsurprisingly, the first to arrive.  Eldur's muted roar of greeting was still echoing when the Red Paladin's face appeared on the com screen, brow creased in concern.  “No sign?” he asked, maneuvering his lion into place above and slightly to the side of Maji in imitation of their relative positions in Voltron.

Lance did a quick check of his sensors before replying.  “They're not coming all the way to the surface,” he said, puzzled.

“They slowed their rate of ascent as soon as we noticed them, but they’re still on the move,” Mabor reported as Hunk and Lupa arrived, sliding into position beside Maji.  “They’re just beneath the surface now.”

“I’m reading a depth of five feet,” Hunk spoke up, focusing Lupa’s sensors on the water.  “You can actually see the fighters in the water,” he went on, “but that’s it.  No movement, and no power signatures.”

“How the hell is that possible?” Pidge’s voice suddenly came across the coms.  “If they’re moving there has to be power.”  Matt could be heard in the background, muffled, the words indistinguishable.  “Good point,” Pidge said.  “The quintessence modification that allows the fighters to function underwater could have induced changes to the power systems.”

“Like what?” Keith asked.  “A completely different propulsion method?”

“It’s not unheard of,” Mabor put in.  “Drone batches that are destined for service in icy climates have a slight variation in their power systems to allow them to withstand the cold, and it sometimes doesn’t register on ordinary sensors.”

“Fire up those quintessence detectors, boys,” Pidge ordered.  “They might be our best chance to keep track of those drones.”  There was a long silence as they all did as she suggested and watched the sensor readings.  “What are they waiting for?” she growled.  “They’re all at full power but not doing a damned thing!”

A loud boom was followed by an angry roar as Sora arrived, swooping down from above the bay and coming to a stop with a burst from the reverse thrusters.  And barely a moment later a mass of drone fighters all but exploded out of the water, headed straight for the group of five lions.

“Guess that answers that question,” Hunk commented.

“UP!” Shiro shouted.  “We can’t fight them here, so draw them away from the planet and into space.”

In sync all five Lions rose and rocketed towards the upper atmosphere, passing the Castle as they went, a horde of Galra drones on their tails.  Allura’s startled exclamation was practically drowned out by the surge of the Castle’s engines as they moved to follow.  When they emerged from Earth’s atmosphere and into open space they saw the Galra ships ready and waiting.

“We picked up on drone activity and moved the fleet,” Daubin could be heard over the coms once they were within range.  He sounded much more cooperative, and even biddable, than he had been thus far during the course of the operation.  “What do you need us to do?”

“Keep your fighters out of the way for now,” Shiro ordered.  “Until we can distinguish them from the enemy it’ll just be a problem.”  He laughed, a little grimly.  “But make sure your ships’ weapon systems are fully powered.”

“Understood.”

“They can provide cover while you form Voltron,” Allura suggested, sounding tense.

“I’m not sure Voltron is the best idea right now, given how many of them there are,” Shiro replied.  “We need to try and take out as many as we can first, and each Lion’s individual weapons are best suited for that.”

“I was hoping you’d say that!” Lance exclaimed as, with a shout of joy, he peeled away from his teammates and flew into the cloud of drone fighters, Maji’s ice weapon sweeping through the mob.

“Guess that’s my cue as well,” Keith added, pouring Eldur’s fire into the mix.

Hunk didn’t respond verbally, but Lupa’s dive into a group of fighters, smashing them on his armor or crushing them in his powerful jaws was more than enough.  Pidge’s laughter could be heard as Ivy spun a corkscrew path through a group of drones, tail and mouth lasers both firing.  Matt’s panicked shouting in the background only had his sister laughing harder.

But as many of the drones as the four of them destroyed more were added to the fray, and all seemed to be focused on getting to Sora, and by extension Shiro.  He flew the Black Lion into the cover of the Galra ships, taking comfort from the way they fired on what had been their own fighters without hesitation.  It was still nothing but a holding action, though, as the ones who survived that gauntlet continued chasing him and Sora.

“Why are they so fixated on Sora?” Keith asked, tone angry as he chased a few drones off the Black Lion’s tail.

“I think it’s -”  A loud explosion interrupted Pidge.  “I think it’s actually Shiro,” she finished.  “But how or why I don’t know.”

“If those modified drones have somehow locked onto something in Shiro’s essence maybe forming Voltron would be a good idea,” Mabor spoke up.  “It could mute whatever signature they’re programmed to follow, and maybe give us some breathing room to figure out how to fight more effectively.”

Silence greeted Mabor’s comments, one that stretched just long enough to be uncomfortable.  Finally Pidge broke it.  “Takashi?”

A deep inhale was heard over the coms.  “Let’s do it,” Shiro said.  “Form Voltron!”

Color bursts in red, blue, yellow, green, and violet grew, twisted, and twined around each other, coming together and finally resolving into the form of the Defender of the Universe for the first time in over five years.

And the sound of someone vomiting came through loud and clear.

“Sorry,” Mabor managed to gasp out before heaving one last time.

Lance laughed.  “No worries; I nearly puked the first time as well.”

“It worked!” Hunk shouted.  “Look, the drones are backing off!”

It was true.  As soon as Voltron appeared the closest drones had moved away, circling each other as if confused, and the ones still approaching had all come to a complete stop.  “Okay, that’s terrific,” Keith put in.  “But what the hell do we do with the time we’ve bought?”

“For now you stay out of the way,” Daubin replied.  “If you’re not engaged we can send in our fighters to do more damage.”  He suited action to words; thousands of drone fighters flowed from the Galra ships and into a massive dogfight with the others as the Paladins looked on.

“We need to come up with some way to take them out all at once,” Shiro commented.  “Anybody have an idea?”

“There has to be a weakness in their modified programming,” Matt said.  “The altered quintessence left physical trails for us to follow across galaxies, so it stands to reason that there would be trails in the base code that controls the drones.  We just need to figure out how to exploit it.”

“Okay, that makes sense.  But, how, specifically, do we do it?”

“Katie?” Matt asked.

Pidge sighed.  “I could probably hack the systems, but it’ll take too long.  Plus I can’t be sure it would take out all of them; most likely it would only affect the single drone that controls the batch.  And I’d need more computing power than what’s available in Ivy.”

“You’d have to be in the Castle,” Lance concluded.

“That’s doable, though,” Keith put in.  “We can separate and get you back to the Castle, then Matt can take over as Ivy’s pilot.”

“But what happens with the drones when we do separate?” Hunk asked.  “The only thing holding them off right now is they’re not exactly sure how to find Shiro.  If we break up Voltron they’ll be back on him like stink on cheese.”

“Daubin?”

“We can hold them off long enough for you to get back to the Castle,” the Galra commander replied over the sounds of explosions.  “But I’d recommend not separating until you’re practically there so as to limit the amount of time you’ll be vulnerable.”

There was a click and a muffled conversation came over the coms before Allura’s voice came through clearly.  “We can time it so that Voltron stays intact until you get inside the particle barrier.”

“Or we can not worry about any of this at all.”

A stunned silence greeted that statement.  “Uh, Mabor?  What are you thinking?” Lance finally asked.

“I’m thinking that hacking the systems creates more problems than it potentially fixes,” the Galra commented.  “As the Green Paladin already mentioned it would take a fair amount of time with no guarantee of a positive return.  But if we could do some modifications of our own -”

“A virus!” Pidge shouted.  “Of course!

Mabor was nodding, even though no one but Lance could see him.  “Exactly. Assuming we’re correct and this batch of drones was modified to function underwater we should be able to come up with a way to counter that.  And if we do it right it’ll shut them down completely.”

“Can it be done from inside Voltron?” Shiro asked, getting right to the point.

“I believe so,” Mabor responded.  “I have all the data and samples of code that I might need.  The main problem is how do we infect all of them at the same time?”

“Would it have to be done all at once?” was Matt’s question.

Pidge’s exhale was loud over the communication system.  “It’d be the best way to do it.  Waiting for them to infect each other would put us in the same position as hacking their systems: it would take too much time and we’d be vulnerable the whole way.”

“We could possibly do something on our end,” Daubin put in.  “We have ways to control all of the fighters linked to our ships; we should be able to extend that to the opposition ones.”

One of the rogue fighters managed to break through the net that Daubin and his commanders had cast and headed straight for them.  The Red Lion moved in an almost lazy arc and caught the fighter in his jaws, blowing up the drone’s engines and crunching the metal into an unrecognizable shape.  “What about that sonar trick Maji can pull?” Keith asked.  “If we can corral the drones into one zone that should do the trick, don’t you think?”

“It’s not a trick!” Lance exclaimed in fake outrage at the same time Shiro asked “What sonar trick?”

Daubin snorted.  “Just what I was about to ask.”

Hunk chuckled.  “We sometimes forget that you spent all that time in a cryo chamber,” he replied to Shiro.  “But while you were snoozing we all worked on strengthening our individual bonds with our Lions, and some interesting new powers, and weapons, were unlocked as a result.”

“Although Maji’s is probably the best,” Keith added, sounding thoroughly disgruntled.  “It’s certainly the most useful.”

“Thank you.”  The amusement in Lance’s voice was unmistakable.

Shiro’s huffy exhale seemed to indicate rising frustration, so Pidge took pity on him.  “Maji has the ability to use sonar; to cast it like a net.  A very long, wide-ranging net.  We haven’t explored all the possibilities of it yet, but it’s been very useful in creating the most accurate star charts the Castle has,” she explained.  “But I’m not sure how using it to spread a virus would work.”

“If I configure it right it’ll just sort of ‘ride’ on top of the sound waves,” Mabor replied.  “As long as they’re in range none of those fighters will be able to avoid it.  But I do need the batch codes for the fighters we brought in our ships, to ensure that they aren’t affected by the virus.”

“I’ll make sure you all have those,” Daubin injected.  “That way you can all join this fight without endangering my fighters or ships, and not before time.”

The meaning behind that comment became clear rather quickly when another surge of fighters burst out of Earth’s atmosphere and joined the fight.  As soon as the codes were received and programmed into Voltron’s systems Shiro gave the order.  “Form shoulder cannon!”

Hunk’s cheer echoed over the system as he pushed his bayard in the socket.  It didn’t take long for the calculations to be done and the cannon fired, wiping out a large swathe of enemy fighters.  Pidge and Lance were also making excellent use of their lasers, and between one breath and the next the Castle’s weapon systems powered up and fired, the light intense and blinding.

“Okay, we’re in it now,” Shiro commanded.  “Keep it up, team, and Mabor?”

“S. . . Sir?” the young Galra stammered.

“Let us know as soon as you’re ready with that virus.”

“There is one small problem that we need to discuss,” Lance said, voice loud over the sound of Maji’s ice laser.  “In order to use the sonar we have to separate, and that’ll expose Shiro’s presence.”

“If we’re fast enough that shouldn’t be an issue,” Pidge commented.

“It’ll take at least a minute to power up the sonar blaster once we’re apart,” Lance explained.  “That’s unavoidable.  And making sure all the drones we want to infect are within the area of effectiveness will also take some time.”

“Separate now,” Daubin suggested.  “You start the process of readying that sonar cannon while the Green, Red, and Yellow Lions protect your commander.  Leave it to us to herd the enemy fighters where you want them to go.”

“I agree with Daubin,” Kolivan spoke for the first time time.  “I’ll send out some of my men in their single-seat fighters to provide extra protection.”

“You guys all act like I can’t take care of myself,” Shiro griped.  “I’m a pretty damned good pilot, remember?  And Sora has weapons every bit as flashy as any your Lions have.”

“But you’re the target now, so just relax and let the rest of us do our jobs,” Pidge responded with a laugh.  “Lance?”

“Ready whenever you guys are.  Mabor, try to keep whatever’s left of your lunch down, okay?”

Shiro sighed and shook his head.  He knew that everyone was right about protecting him, since whatever the reason was for the drones to be locked on him was unlikely to be good for any of them.  That didn’t mean he had to enjoy being treated like the damsel in distress, though.  And at the thought of how Pidge would react to that description he laughed out loud.  “All right, is everyone ready?”  When multiple affirmatives sounded over the coms he went on.  “Separate!”

The five color bursts appeared again, splitting off into different directions and resolving into the Lions.  As soon as the light cleared the drones all started to move against Sora, but Keith and Eldur were there in the blink of an eye, weapons firing.  The Red Lion’s speed, always impressive, was now off the scale.  He maneuvered through the battle, weaving around Ivy, Lupa, and the Galra ships as little more than a streak of red against the starscape around them, barely pausing for each blast of fire from his mouth.

“Cover for me!” Pidge called out before backing Ivy away from the battle.  Eldur and Lupa both moved in, giving her the time she needed.  There was a flash of green light and a weapon Shiro had never seen before was on Ivy’s back, firing a thick, bright green beam that seemed to do no damage.

Until vines - actual living, organic vines, sprouted from the drones affected, growing at a quick rate and wrapping around the fighters, squeezing until they all exploded.  But that wasn’t the end of it; the vines seemed to absorb energy from the destroyed drones, using the leftover quintessence to grow further, reaching out to, and destroying, more fighters.  Pidge’s one shot destroyed eight fighters before reaching its limits, but by that time she had changed her aim and fired once more, starting the process again.

Lupa stayed closest to Sora and Shiro, circling around and spiraling up and down the Black Lion’s body.  He came in so close on a couple of occasions that Shiro could clearly see the extra armor that covered the Yellow Lion’s back, shoulders, and even the top of his head.  Any time one of the drones managed to slip past Ivy and Eldur Lupa flew into the fighter’s path, letting the smaller ship smash itself against his impenetrable skin.  The new, heavy duty claws on his front paws also made short work of a few fighters, lashing out and catching them with devastating blows.

And Shiro could do little else except watch, jaw hanging open and pride welling in his chest.  He had known that all of them had grown up and matured while he was stuck in cryo-freeze, but to actually see all of it in action. . .

“Great guys!  Keep moving them into position away from the planet; we’re just about ready!”

Lance’s exclamation galvanized everyone into action.  The Galra ships fell back, forming a semicircle with Sora as its center.  The other lions also shifted position, opening the way for the enemy drones to move in closer.  Shiro tensed, his hand twitching near his bayard’s holster; something seemed to hold them back, though.  The mass of drones continued to collect in the space their ships had made but none made a move to attack.  “Why are they holding back?” he asked, puzzled.

“I hacked Sora’s systems and altered the transponder signal,” Matt spoke up.  “Right now those drones are getting a reading that suggests we’ve made Voltron, so they’re not quite certain where you are, Shiro.”

Keith laughed.  “He’s Pidge’s brother, all right.”

“Yeah, well, you might not be so complimentary if this hack falters at all,” Matt replied with a snort.  “I’m not sure how long it’ll last, so the sooner you’re ready, Lance, the better.”

“Final preparations happening now,” came the response.  “Clear the area and make the shift to block the path back to Earth;  we don’t want any of them to get away.”

Maji switched places with Sora as the center of the arc as all the other ships spread out into a straight line between the mass of drones and the planet behind and below them.  The Castle moved into position behind all the rest as a last line of defense.

“We’re ready whenever you are, Blue Paladin,” Daubin ordered.

“Right,” Lance breathed, sounding excited and a little trepidatious.  “Mabor?”

“One minute,” the Galra replied.  “Just one quick check to make sure. . .”  His voice trailed off as everyone held their breath.

Blue light brightened the sky, rippling down the entire length of Maji.  The sonar array appeared on his back, glinting in the sunlight as Lance made a few adjustments to the Lion’s position to optimize the blast.  “Firing. . .”  Everyone sucked in their breath.  “Now.”

There was nothing visible in the sky as the sonar did its job; just an almost-sensation of pressure from the backwash of the soundwaves.  Shiro imagined he could see it, nonetheless; waves pulsating out and spreading in a cone from Maji’s position, small disruptions as each fighter was engulfed in the wave.  It was a hypnotic illusion, broken only when Matt’s voice suddenly intruded.

“Shit!” he hissed.  “The virtual shield I put up over Sora’s transponder is failing.  Forty-seven per cent. . . thirty-eight. . . twenty-nine. . .”

“Lance?” Hunk asked, clearly worried as Matt continued to count down.  When the system fell to fifteen per cent some of the drones appeared to come back to life, shifting their positions so they were angled towards the spot in the line that Sora occupied.

“It didn’t work?” Pidge commented, half statement and half question.  Like Hunk she sounded afraid and uncertain, but with an extra edge, no doubt inspired by her feelings for Shiro.  Lance felt a nearly irresistible urge to apologize to her when Mabor broke in.

“We’re getting pulses back,” he said.  “If anything is going to happen it’ll be -”

“Now,” Keith said on a breathy exhale.

Everyone’s eyes were locked on the mass of drones, most of which had powered up their weapons systems in preparation for an attack on Sora.  The lasers on stand-by looked like so many purple-red eyes filling the sky and blotting out the stars, but then a pair of those eyes blinked once before going out.  Then another, and another, until the whole group was dark.

“It worked!” Lance exulted, pumping his fist once in his excitement.  “It  _ quiznacking _ worked!  I can’t believe -”

“Hang on!” Mabor interrupted.  “There’s a feedback burst coming in three. . . two. . . one.”

This time the wave was visible, in the form of malevolent purple light that burst out of every effected drone and raced toward them.  Daubin’s voice could be heard ordering the Galra fleet to get their shield barriers in place, and even Coran and Allura were shouting questions about what was happening, both sounding frantic and worried.

Pidge sucked in a breath as the wave engulfed the Lions, feeling an unpleasant tingle under her skin as it passed.  The purple color it had exhibited was exactly like what used to be a feature of Shiro’s cybernetic arm, a fact that probably did not escape any of the Paladins.  There was a jumble of confused shouts and panicked exclamations before the com system, and then Ivy’s power, completely shut down.

It took several long minutes for the systems to power back up again, all of the data screens blinking to life despite their blank displays.  When communications were restored all that could be heard were puzzled questions and reports of damage that had been suffered.  Pidge could hear Lance, Keith, and Hunk clearly, but not Shiro.  A bubble of panic started to work its way out of her chest as she strove to get all of the screens and the heads up display working again.  But when the view out of Ivy’s eyes returned it wasn’t comforting.  In the center of their group was a disturbing blank space

Sora and Shiro were gone.


	23. Witch

When Shiro opened his eyes on an impenetrable darkness he had no idea where he was.  He knew where he wasn’t, though; this was definitely not Sora’s cockpit.  He could feel the Lion as an oddly muted presence in the back of his mind, nowhere near as loud and demanding as he normally was, and that was puzzling.  The last time he had felt this disconnected from Sora had been inside that solar barrier.

He shot to his feet, feeling a searing pain in the join between his flesh and blood and the cybernetic arm.  He had felt this lack of connection with Sora when Zarkon had interfered with their bond and pushed Shiro out of the Lion, both mentally and physically.  But that was five years and almost countless galaxies away from the here and now.  And Zarkon was dead, killed by those he trusted most.  More than likely killed by -

“Hello, Champion.”

The voice was like something out of a nightmare, but as he turned to face its owner Shiro knew that this time it was all too real.

****~**~**~**~**~****

“We have to find him!  Do you understand?  He’s been targeted by whatever Druid remnants are on Earth right now!”

“Pidge.”  Keith’s hand came down on her shoulder, maybe a little harder than necessary.  “You need to calm down.  We’re doing everything we can to find Shiro, but the Druid’s are experts at creating interference.  It’s going to take some time.”

“Plus anything we do find needs to be confirmed,” Lance added.  “It wouldn’t be the first time they had us chasing a false trail.”

“And our tails,” Hunk added.  When everyone looked his way he shrugged.  “Figuratively speaking, of course.”

A half-choked, frustrated scream erupted from Pidge’s throat.  “Stop talking!” she shouted.  “None of that is helping, and -”

“Katie.”

Matt’s quiet word stop the angry flow of words, replacing it with tears welling in her eyes.  Pidge all but threw herself into her brother’s arms, melting into his embrace.  The others chose to ignore the sobs that were visible in the shaking of her shoulders.

Allura breathed out an inaudible sigh of relief, exchanging glances with Coran and Kolivan.  She was plenty worried about Shiro and Sora herself, but had to admit that Pidge’s overly emotional response to the situation was not helpful.  Once the Green Paladin calmed down they’d be able to plan what to do next.  She turned to Daubin.  “If we give you the quintessence signature we’ve been searching for can you quickly calibrate your ships’ sensors for it?”

Daubin nodded once.  “We’ll get all of them set up and spread out,” he said.  “I assume you want us involved because we can cover more of the planet faster that way.”

“Exactly,” Allura replied with a smile before turning to where Matt stood, Pidge still cradled against his chest.  Her shoulders had stopped shaking with sobs but her strained breathing indicated she was still crying, but much more in control.  “Pidge,” she began, voice gentle, “I need you to give whatever information you have on that quintessence signature to Daubin, and help with getting all the Galra ships prepared to search for it.”

Pidge lifted her head off of her brother’s shoulder and took a deep breath.  The siblings exchanged a look, then Pidge turned to face Allura, wiping her eyes as she moved.  “Matt should be the one who helps,” she finally said, sounding much more calm.  “We can add the Lion’s into the search perimeter and cover even more area that way.  They’re already equipped with the quintessence detectors so we don’t need to spare any extra time for modifications.”  She sank her teeth into her lower lip, looking uncertain.  “But there might be a better way to do this.  A faster way.”

“Meaning?” Keith asked.

“Well, as the situation currently stands there’s probably too much modified quintessence out there, which will cause a massive amount of interference.  Of course it can all be sorted out, but it’ll take time.  A lot of time.”

“What alternative are you suggesting, Number Five?” Coran inquired.

The use of that old nickname brought a smile to Pidge’s lips.  “Bear with me,” she replied, “as this may take a while to explain.”  She paused and took a deep breath.  “We know that quintessence was used in both the manufacture of Shiro’s prosthetic arm and the process of attaching it to what remained of his flesh and blood one.  And in light of what we’ve recently learned I think it is safe to assume that it was modified quintessence.  Now. . .”  She took another moment to gather her thoughts.  “One of the tasks that he and I undertook when we arrived home on Earth was to try and alter both the mechanical structure and the programming of that arm to make it easier, and less painful, for him to use.  I began the process in a small lab I had set up inside Ivy and directly connected Shiro’s arm to her computer systems to use -”

“AAAAAHHHH!”  Hunk cried out, interrupting Pidge’s explanation.  “Shiro’s arm has some of Ivy’s life energy!”

Keith and Lance exchanged a puzzled look.  “And?” Lance finally spoke.

Allura’s face transformed with a look of excitement.  “And that means I can find him the same way I located the Lions in the past!”

“Exactly,” Pidge acknowledged with a nod.  “It may not be a perfect location, but it should, at the least, narrow things down so a quintessence scan would be more efficient.”

Allura didn’t hesitate; she stepped right on to the control panel, eyes drifting closed as it lit up.  An oppressive silence settled in the room as she focused, a line forming between her eyebrows as her concentration intensified.  Pidge swore she could hear everyone’s breathing, and the way they all held their breath for a long moment.  Then Allura’s face smoothed out and she exhaled, eyes opening.

“Nothing,” she said with a frown, head bowed.  “I can’t find him; Ivy’s presence is too large.  It’s like. . .”

“Trying to see a candle’s flame when held against the sun,” Keith finished.  “That tiny spark gets engulfed in the bigger fire.”

Allura nodded a split second before she lifted her head and grinned.  “But I found Sora.”  A holographic image of the Earth appeared before her; it spun and then enlarged, narrowing in on a specific area.  Pidge stepped closer and stared at it, the small image of Sora pinpointing his location.

“That’s the middle of the Sea of Japan,” she said.

“Then that’s where we’re headed,” Keith ordered.  “Allura, you’ll fly Ivy.  Pidge, you go in Maji with Lance and get Sora back.”  He looked around at all the grinning faces surrounding him.  “Then we’ll find Shiro.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Shiro struggled to calm his breathing, knowing that the strained sound would interfere with his ability to hear and predict any incoming attack.  In that oppressive darkness his ears were the only sense he could rely on; an overly sweet scent, like cheap incense, was making his sense of smell useless.  He had tried to keep himself moving in one direction in the hopes of coming up against a wall, but suspected the pattern of attacks were designed to keep him disoriented and moving in a circle.

But knowing the way the witch Haggar thought it was just as likely meant to push him to the brink of insanity.  So he decided that he may as well get something out of the deal.  “You served Zarkon for so long,” he began, striving to keep his tone calm.  “Why decide to suddenly kill him?”

A violently purple bolt of lightning shot out and Shiro just managed to dodge it, rolling back to his feet as Haggar’s harsh voice filled his ears.  “You think I  _ served _ him?  That anything other than his death was ever the plan?”  A half-scoff, half-laugh, escaped the witch’s throat.  “This was always the end game, from the moment we lifted him onto that throne.”

Shiro swallowed down the gasp that threatened to erupt, not wanting to break the flow of Haggar’s words.  Whether it was her distraction or her anger he didn’t know, but whatever was blocking his connection to Sora was getting weaker, allowing him to sense his lion.  He couldn’t pinpoint the location, but he felt better just knowing that Sora was back in his heart and head.  “So you take credit for making Zarkon king?” he asked, hoping to keep the Druid distracted.

“Of course!” Haggar spat.  “We were the only group with enough power to counter the Blade of Marmora’s influence within the old royal line.  That and it was child’s play to use the idea of a female heir to stoke the unease growing in the Council.”  Her face twisted in a scowl.  “But then that fool chose to ally himself with the existing royal family, instead of marrying the woman we had hand-picked for him!  Allowing them to return to even the tiniest bit of power was the worst thing Zarkon could have done.”

“That explains the attempted murder of Skolark.”  Shiro could feel the block between himself and Sora weaken a little bit more.

“That fool could have had power beyond his wildest imaginings if only he cooperated!  But he just had to work to strengthen the Council’s control of the government while reaching out to the Empire’s greatest enemy at the same time,” she snarled.  “A truce with the Altean princess and Team Voltron was preposterous enough, but when we learned that it brought him in contact with the heir to the old royal line -”

“So you orchestrated that rebellion in the hopes of. . .  What?  Forcing Skolark out of the President’s chair so you could install another of your puppets?”  Shiro grinned, knowing it would anger the Druid further.  “Didn’t quite work out the way you wanted, did it?”

“The underlings were a regrettable sacrifice, but a necessary one.  I assure you we got much more benefit out of the episode than you might think.”  Haggar’s smile was feral as she waved a hand, encompassing the space around them.  “Knowledge of this place was just one of our material gains.”

The darkness that surrounded them disappeared for a moment, but it was long enough for the familiar contours of his family’s temple courtyard to be apparent.  And despite his best efforts Shiro felt a blistering anger surge to life inside him; Sora’s presence in his heart and mind started to fade again as that burning pain wrapped around his bicep, where the flesh and cybernetic arms were joined.  It spread down, into his hand, which was quickly engulfed in a purple light.

Haggar’s cackling laugh echoed in his ears as she disappeared.  “Better, Champion.  Now you look like the man I remember.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

“I don’t understand why Keith sent me with you,” Pidge commented as Maji slipped beneath the water.  “Wouldn’t it be better if he flew Sora?”

Lance chuckled softly.  “Under the circumstances I agree with him that you’re the best choice.  It’d be hard to find two members of this ragtag bunch that care more about Shiro than you and Sora.”

Pidge sighed and leaned back in her chair.  “I’m not arguing the point but how, exactly, is that supposed to help?”

“Seriously?”  Lance half-turned in the pilot’s chair so he could look Pidge in the eye.  “I challenge any Druid to come up with a block of Shiro’s life energy powerful enough to resist if you and Sora together are looking for him.”  He smiled, and it was so far removed from his regular, cocksure, and obnoxious grin that Pidge felt her cheeks start to burn.  It was at times like this that she remembered just what sort of man Lance really was, and why she valued him so highly.

A proximity alarm started to beep,making both of them start.  Lance turned back to face forward, pulling up Maji’s sensor control screen.  “Okay, we’re close to the coordinates Allura gave us.  We’re gonna do this with normal sensors; I’d rather not give our presence away with the sonar, so that’s a last resort.”  He glanced at the depth gauge.  “Hmmm, I think we’re probably gonna go pretty deep.  Too deep for you to leave Maji.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Pidge commented with steel in her tone.  “You find Sora; I’ll do the rest.”

The trademark cocky grin spread across Lance’s face.  “Roger that.”  He pulled up sensor information.  “Okay, we’ve got a large - huge, really - metallic mass at two o’clock.  Depth eleven thousand feet and rising.  Slowly, but rising.”

“Take us down.  I need to get close enough to -”

Sudden bright lights erupted from below them, resolving into the glowing yellow of Sora’s eyes.  As he came closer Pidge closed her eyes, reaching into the Paladin bond with her heart and mind.  It was clear when she connected; a warm smile graced her face and then Sora roared, the sound muffled by the water but still clear.  His thrusters engaged and he flew past Maji in a burst of speed, heading for the surface.

“Follow him!” Pidge shouted.

Lance didn’t need to be told twice.  He flipped Maji around and they flew after Sora.  Pidge watched the depth gauge as they went, and as soon as it was safe for her to leave Maji she fully activated her helmet and left the cockpit, taking off out of the Blue Lion’s mouth as soon as it was open, jetpack leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake as she flew after Sora.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Allura was flying Ivy barely twenty feet above the surface of the water, worriedly looking back and forth between the sensor readouts and the view of the outside.  Suddenly the sensors went haywire as two shapes became visible just below the surface.

Pidge’s exultant shout as she and Sora erupted out of the sea echoed over the entire communication system.

****~**~**~**~**~****

Shiro blinked rapidly, hoping to clear the blood out of his left eye.  The cut across his eyebrow stung like fury, but he refused to even take a second to swipe an arm over the area.  Even that miniscule amount of inattention could be deadly, especially under the current conditions.

His ears caught the first crackle of lightning and he managed to throw himself out of the line of fire, rolling and getting back to his feet as quickly as possible..  Haggar’s almost approving laughter made his skin crawl, and he forced himself to stay silent and not react to it.  With luck his calm demeanor might allow this fight to stretch out long enough for a rescue to arrive.

If the witch didn’t go off the deep end with frustration and kill him in one shot, of course.  He wasn’t too concerned about that possibility, though, since the entire situation was providing her with a measure of sadistic glee.

A bare hint of movement in the corner of his right eye and he threw up his arm to block the blow, wincing as the much-hated purple color intensified for a moment, bringing with it a surge in pain.

“You’re reflexes are surprisingly good, considering you can only rely on your hearing,” Haggar states with a hint of gloating.  “But let’s see how you do with multiple sources of sound.”

As she spoke the words seemed to echo, as if additional Haggars had joined the chorus.  Shiro remembered that trick from the last time he fought her, and choked down a rush of instinctive panic.  He needed to keep his thoughts calm and figure out a way to detect the real witch amidst all the copies.  Even as that thought passed through his brain he was hit with blows from three different directions, sending him sprawling across the ground.

“Too slow, Champion.”  Something that feels like a hand wraps around Shiro’s ankle and drags him, pebbles, sand, and gravel scraping across every exposed inch of his skin.  The weird echo of more than one witch speaking continued.  “Maybe you just need the right motivation to fight.  Or give up.”

One of the copies - or maybe even the original - materialized right in front of Shiro, face twisted in an ugly smirk.  Since he was already down on the ground he decided to take the moment to wipe the blood from his eye, wincing as the rough material of his glove caught on his cut eyebrow.  Then his jaw dropped open in shock as the Haggar standing over him seemed to melt, form transforming into one that was heartbreakingly familiar.

Pidge now stood before him, but a Pidge he barely recognized.  Her mouth, usually graced by her quirky, crooked grin, was twisted in a scowl, and her amber eyes were cold and narrowed.  And when she spoke it was in the Druid’s voice.

“If I break her will that break you?”

Ice encased Shiro’s heat for a split second as he half-remembered those words from a nightmare before burning away in the wave of anger that he stopped trying to control.  If Haggar was willing to use Katie - beautiful, brilliant, loving Katie - then all bets were off.  He jumped to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain as power surged through his prosthetic arm, and swiped his glowing hand right through the fake Pidge, not surprised when she disappeared in a swirl of smoke.  He snarled and turned to face more of the Druids.

“Much better, Champion.  But can your random attacks keep up with my ability to generate more illusions?”

Shiro took a step back and struggled to get a grip on his raging emotions.  He had to do this right; had to figure out which Haggar was the real one.  Putting her out of commission was the only way to end this.  But how was he supposed to get it right in one shot?

He felt a tingle in his cybernetic arm, the sensation a welcome change from the painful burning he had been feeling since waking up in Haggar’s trap.  And with that feeling came a memory that nearly had him laughing out loud.

_ You seriously made that quintessence detector small enough to fit in my arm? _

_ Ummm, not exactly.  But by connecting your arm to Ivy I’m giving it a way to remember the wavelength we’ve been searching for.  Unfortunately you’re going to have to figure out how to access it. _

He had to bite down on his lower lip to prevent the grin that wanted to escape.  Now that he knew there was a way to catch Haggar he could take anything she might throw at him.  Especially if it enabled him to connect to the modified quintessence she used to extend her life; maybe catch some of that magical lightning with the prosthetic and reverse the flow. . .

His thoughts were interrupted by a blast of that same lightning, knocking him on his ass.  But as he lay there, trying to catch his breath, the tingle in his arm intensified and whatever was blocking his connection to Sora started to fade.  He reached out with his heart to grab on to that sensation, feeling the presence of his teammates and the other four lions as he did so.  They were out there looking for him, and getting closer, and judging by the anger radiating from Haggar she was aware of it as well.

“Do you really think they can help you?” she screeched at him as more lightning flew over his head.  “Even if they could find you they can’t get past the army of drones, or my shield.  I’ll not let any of you interfere with my plans!”

Her rage was definitely having an effect on her ability to maintain all of the illusionary copies, so Shiro scuttled sideways into a slighter darker patch of the enveloping blackness.  Purple lightning lanced through where he had been laying just a moment ago, followed by an angry snarl as Haggar realized he had moved.  She wavered in front of him, clearly one of the copies, so with a quick kick out and swipe of his prosthetic she was eliminated.

“You won’t win, Champion.  No matter what you think.”

Shiro got carefully to his feet, attempting to be as quiet as possible.  The bond between all of the Paladins and Lions was practically shouting in the back of his mind, and Pidge’s presence was the loudest.  He grabbed hold of that with every ounce of strength in his heart, mind, and soul before stepping forward, the light surrounding his prosthetic beginning to glow a brilliant green.  A green that he would forever associate with Katie.

“I already have,” he whispered, taking joy in the startled jump of the witch in front of him.  “You haven’t broken me, and you haven’t broken any of us.  As long as we’re breathing we’ll resist your machinations.”  He felt a grin making one corner of his mouth twitch.  “And just as a reminder we do have the true heir to the throne on our side.”

That did it.  With the rage causing a total loss of concentration Haggar’s shield dropped, the darkness blasted away by a sudden surge of sunshine.  All of the magical copies also disappeared, leaving Shiro face-to-face with the original.  In a flash he caught hold of her with his cybernetic arm, twisting her into a modified chokehold.  The drone soldiers that had been approaching stopped, milling around in confusion, then they all dropped to the ground, stricken by Mabor’s virus.

The roar of a lion rattled the temple just seconds before Maji, Lupa, Eldur, and Ivy flew overhead.  Then Sora landed in the courtyard with enough force to shake the ground.  His head dropped, mouth opening, and Pidge walked down the ramp.

“Hey,” she said with a half nod to where Shiro stood with a tight grip on the witch.  Pidge jerked one thumb over her shoulder to where the enormous mechanical lion loomed over the three of them.  “Your ride’s here.”


	24. Epilogue

“Whatever happens to Haggar, or any others, from this point forward needs to be done in full accordance with the law,” Allura baldly stated.  “The trials and executions five years ago were thoroughly botched, and if you want this new empire to survive you can not afford another such mistake.  Justice must not only be seen to be done, but to be done properly.”

Several of the people sitting around the council’s table glared at what could be considered presumption, but Allura carefully ignored them, keeping her eyes focused on Skolark and his allies on the Imperial Council.  The silence in the room stretched out, growing more uncomfortable, before Skolark sighed and rose to his feet.  “I know there will be some opposition -”  He didn’t even look at the others gathered.  “- but I have to agree.  If we are to succeed in rebuilding our society we need the trust of all our people, including any Druids who had nothing to do with this plot.”

Pidge shifted in the uncomfortable chair - it had clearly been designed to accommodate Galra backsides - and stifled a yawn.  It had been a couple of insane, and sleepless, days since they brought Haggar back to the Castle.  It was their first opportunity to test the quintessence-suppressing materials that Hunk had been working on for years and they were all pleasantly surprised when the specially constructed cell had worked.  But even with that advantage Allura had insisted on a round-the-clock guard on the witch, the duties shared amongst the Paladins, members of the Blade of Marmora, and a few of the lower-ranking Galra officers that had been seconded to the Castle.

Just knowing that Haggar was on the ship with them, though, had made any sort of relaxation, let alone sleep, impossible.  Allura had been especially sensitive to all of the tension, so she ignored the previous injunction against bringing the Castle into the Galran system and opened a wormhole that brought them right into orbit around the home planet.  She had stopped short of landing the Castle, though, choosing to arrive with all five Lions instead.  Which, in a way, was even more intimidating.

That had been two days ago, and they had been wrangling over the legal and political implications of the entire situation ever since.  It was all delicate diplomacy, careful maneuvering, and deliberate word choice.

It was also boring as hell.

Pidge glanced to her left, where Lance’s eyes were taking on a characteristic droop.  On the other side she heard Keith’s soft chuckle as Hunk slowly and carefully - to avoid attracting attention - moved his arm into position before smacking Lance on the back of the head.  The Blue Paladin jerked in his chair, fully awake and pissed off.  Pidge bit her lip to keep her laughter behind her teeth, only wilting when Shiro cast a withering look at the four of them.  Chagrined they all settled in their chairs, determined to pay better attention.

“. . . and I suppose the only remaining question is what to do about the two heirs to the throne,” Skolark was saying as Pidge  brought her focus back to the conversation.  Next to her Keith dropped his eyes, looking as if he wanted to disappear.  Pidge had to nudge him with an elbow when Allura looked his way, and with a deep inhale he looked up, chin just a tad higher than normal.

“While I’m not disputing my position as a scion of the old royal house I do take exception to being called an heir to the throne,” Keith said once all eyes were on him.  He stared back, directly at Skolark.  “If you are insistent on maintaining a monarchy you need to think only of the real heir.  She’s Zarkon’s granddaughter, correct?”

Skolark nodded.  “The two of you are cousins of some degree; your maternal grandfather and her paternal grandmother were brother and sister.”  He glanced at Allura, almost a plea, then continued speaking when she simply shrugged.  “By virtue of being descended from a male of the old royal line you have a better claim to the throne, but I fear that may be one change too many for most of our people.  They don’t know you at all, whereas Lor’ka grew up here, amongst the Galra people.  She’s a familiar face.”

“So what matter do you still think is in question?” Allura asked, raising a hand to stall what would most likely have been an angry response from Keith.  Then her eyes widened.  “Is this. . .  Do you envision a marriage between them as a way to smooth out the issue of succession?”

Skolark flushed.  “It would be an ideal solution, but no, it is not something I am advocating.”  HIs smile was thin as his gaze fell first on Keith, then Kolivan.  “Lor’ka has been raised to hate and fear the Blade of Marmora, so I expect she would be violently opposed to the idea of a marital union with someone who is the legacy of two members.”

Keith tried his best to prevent his sigh of relief from being too obvious.  “Then what, exactly, do you think needs to be settled?  What are you proposing?” he asked, glancing between Allura, Kolivan, and Skolark.

“Simply an introduction between the two of you; that you meet and talk, so that whatever decision is made with regard to the throne can be shown as being agreed to by both heirs.”

Lance laughed.  “Cover your ass, in other words.”

“Lance!” Shiro interjected.

“If I’m understanding the human expression correctly then I can not argue with the Blue Paladin’s conclusion,” Skolark replied with a grin.  “I do want to protect myself and my colleagues from any potential political fallout of our decisions.”

“If I agree to this will that be the end of my ‘official’ duties as heir?” Keith put in.

Skolark shook his head.  “I can’t promise that, but I can promise that you will only be called in as a matter of last resort.”

Keith and Allura exchanged a long, telling glance before he looked to all of his teammates, and finally Kolivan.  Upon receiving expressions of affirmation from everyone he turned back to Skolark.  “I can agree to that.”

****~**~**~**~**~****

Back in the Castle that night Pidge felt increasingly out of sorts.  After the weeks and weeks of stress they had all endured recently the resolution almost felt like a letdown.  There was no urgent task to accomplish, but she was finding it impossible to relax, let alone sleep.  The unnerving silence in the Castle’s family quarters didn’t help; Allura had stayed on the planet for a few more sessions of diplomatic wrangling.

So Pidge found herself wandering the corridors, trying to get her mind to settle.  She deliberately avoided her lab, knowing that there’d be no sleep if she got caught up in her work.  A stop by Ivy’s hanger ended abruptly when the Lion all but ordered her to go to bed - at least that was the impression that came through the bond.

And it wasn’t long after that she found herself in the crew section of the ship, staring at the door of what she knew was Shiro’s quarters.  Her hand was raised to knock, but as soon as she started to second-guess her actions she took a step back, almost tripping over her feet in surprise as the door opened.

“I was just leaving to go and look for you,” Shiro murmured, taking hold of her upraised arm and tugging her inside.  He enfolded her in his arms, and Pidge sighed into the warmth that wrapped around her.

“I’ve missed this,” she whispered, voice almost lost in the folds of Shiro’s shirt.

HIs chest shook under her cheek as he chuckled.  “Me too.  These last few days have been. . .”

“Hell.”

“I was going to say beyond stressful, but hell works.”  Shiro pulled away slightly, softly kissing Pidge’s forehead before leading her to the sofa, where they promptly collapsed into its comfort, leaning against each other, hands clasped and fingers entwined.

“Lor’ka wasn’t quite what I expected,” Pidge commented after a long silence.

Shiro chuckled.  “She was certainly wary of Keith, but not unfriendly.  And she isn’t opposed to working with other groups within the Galra hierarchy.”  He pulled his hand free from Pidge’s grasp and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  “I imagine Allura will be able to work with her.”

“She seemed rather taken with Lance.”

“Probably because he flirted outrageously with her.”

That elicited more laughter, but then they settled into another comfortable silence.  It didn’t last long, however, as Pidge began to fidget.  “What is it?” Shiro asked, kissing the top of her head.  “Katie, you clearly have something on your mind, so spill.”

“I just. . .”  She pushed back a tad, putting some distance between them so their eyes could meet.  “I was so scared - terrified, really - when we couldn’t find you.  Even after we got Sora back we still weren’t sure where you were; it wasn’t until Haggar’s barrier started to fray that we knew for sure.”

Shiro hummed in response, looking contemplative.  “I knew that the barrier was falling apart because I could feel Sora’s presence getting stronger in my head and heart.  But you being with him - flying him - was a total surprise.”  He stroked a finger down her cheek.  “But I don’t think that’s all you wanted to ask.”

Pidge shook her head.  “It was. . .”  She blinked away a few tears that threatened to spill over.  “That barrier the witch put up was so strong, neither Sora nor I could sense anything of you.  How did you manage to break it?”

“I thought of you,” Shiro responded as if it was the simplest thing in the world.  He held up his cybernetic arm.  “You put yourself into this thing, and it showed.”  A muted buzz sounded as the arm activated and started to glow green.  “This connection was all I needed to beat her.”

“Takashi. . .

“You’re all I need,” he went on, pressing his face into her neck.  “I want my family and my friends with me always, but what I need is you, Katie Holt.”

A pleasurable shiver chased down her spine as Shiro’s warm breath caressed the skin behind her ear and one of his hands slid beneath her shirt.  “Well, that’s a good thing because you’re stuck with me, Shirogane.  For life.”

“Good.”  Shiro pulled back before leaning in to kiss Pidge softly, but with intent.  He lifted her to sit on his lap before standing up with her cradled in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.  Neither said another word after that; hands, lips, and tongues more than adequate for the conversation they had.

****~**~**~**~**~****

The next morning Pidge woke up to the sound of Shiro’s laughter.  She slipped out of the bed and into his shirt, crossing the room to where he sat at the desk.  “What's so funny?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

“This.”  And he showed her the communication screen he had opened, which featured a series of pictures from his cousin showing the clean-up in progress at the temple.  The first picture showed Tohoku surrounded by deactivated drone soldiers with an exasperated look on his face.  Then a picture of Keiko, armed with a broom, pushing the heads of three drones across the courtyard.  There was the torso of a drone shoved in the hole in the dojo’s roof, with the caption  _ Cheaper than a contractor _ .  All the pictures brought a smile to Pidge’s face.

“We need to go back to Miyagi,” she said, a little wistfully.  “I feel like I didn’t really experience it the first time.”

Shiro patted her arms where they rested against his chest.  “I’m glad you think so, because. . .”  His voice trailed off as he opened the final picture Tohoku had sent.  It showed the wire frame that stood beside the sacred tree, still adorned with o-mikuji, and captioned in both Japanese and English.

_ What this place needs now is a wedding. . . _

 

 

**_THE END_ **


End file.
